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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove date”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “remove date”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Advanced Datepicker – Restrict Date for Elementor Forms shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #6 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #1 2 پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Smart Archive Page Remove 6K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #16 ↓2 11 too low 6 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #19 ↑1 13 too low 7 Show modified Date in admin lists 6K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #7 8 Persian Date 2K+ · 4.5★ (16) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (282) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #20 ↓2 9 too low 12 NS Remove Related Products for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 PI Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Hide/Remove Metadata 20K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Estimated delivery date per product for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (83) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Availability Datepicker – Booking Calendar for Contact Form 7 – Input WP 10K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Product Delivery Date for WooCommerce – Lite 1K+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Change Last Modified Date 3K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Advanced Datepicker – Restrict Date for Elementor Forms 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Remove layout destroying HTML-Tags 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.