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

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 version rss”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

RSS Control shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 491 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 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #1 2 RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #2 3 Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113) wp.org #3 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too high 8 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 Meta Generator and Version Info Remover 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #23 ↑1 13 too low 11 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #19 ↓15 5 too low 15 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #14 ↑5 1 too high 16 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 WPS Bidouille 9K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 XO Security 30K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 RSS Feed Pro 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 RSS Control 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑1 17 too high 22 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 RSS Retriever Lite 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 16 too high 24 R Remove Version Info 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 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.