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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “reserved”

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 “reserved”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Footer Copyright shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ 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

Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 586 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #1 2 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects 9K+ · 4.9★ (665) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Disable Media Pages 10K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Search Analytics for WP – Site Search Tracking 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #15 16 Simple Page Access Restriction 6K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 CatFolders – WordPress Media Library Folders & Categories 6K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #17 18 Live Event Seating Lite – Seating Chart, Floor Plan, RSVP & Event Ticket 30+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 CM E-Mail Blacklist – Simple email filtering for safer registration 700+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Footer Copyright 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Rollbar 300+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 QODE Quick View for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.