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

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 querystrings”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Guten Free Options shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP YouTube Lyte places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 206 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 URL Params 8K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Remove Social ID for WP 100+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Real-Time Find and Replace 70K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Simple:Press Forum 300+ · 4.2★ (24) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 I Insert Pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Leaflet Map 30K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 WP YouTube Lyte 20K+ · 4.8★ (206) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Authorizer 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 WebP Express 300K+ · 4.4★ (162) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Cookies and Content Security Policy 10K+ · 4.9★ (67) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Menubar 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 WP Cassify 900+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 M MW WP Form 200K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Guten Free Options 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Omise Payments 2K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Jikida Security — Malware Scanner, Firewall & Login Protection — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 crouton 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too high

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.