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

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 shortcodes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

Remove Empty Shortcodes shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Role Editor places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 288 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 Arconix Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #1 2 Easy Bootstrap Shortcode 6K+ · 4.0★ (50) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything 100K+ · 4.9★ (227) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #6 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Clean unused shortcodes 300+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #13 14 Simple Shortcode for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Wbcom Designs – Shortcodes & Elementor Widgets For BuddyPress 600+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Uix Shortcodes 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Hide Broken Shortcodes 400+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Login Widget With Shortcode 5K+ · 3.8★ (29) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Remove Empty Shortcodes 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 MachForm Shortcode 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Checkout & Store Toolkit for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Remove Gutenberg 300+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.