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

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 shortcode”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Five-Star Ratings Shortcode shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 1435 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything 100K+ · 4.9★ (227) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #1 2 too high 4

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #8 4 too low 5

Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

PDF.js Viewer 20K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #6 7

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #14 7 too low 8

Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #13 5 too low 9

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #17 8 too low 10

Easy Bootstrap Shortcode 6K+ · 4.0★ (50) wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Arconix Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.6★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #11 12

Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

Simple Shortcode for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #16 3 too low 14

User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #24 10 too low 15

MachForm Shortcode 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #5 10 too high 16

Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #10 6 too high 17

Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #19 2 too low 18

Clean unused shortcodes 300+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #12 7 too high 20

Five-Star Ratings Shortcode 500+ · 4.2★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #7 13 too high 21

Uix Shortcodes 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 22

Remove Empty Shortcodes 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

Elo Rating Shortcode 40+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Checkout & Store Toolkit for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.