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

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 “respect”, we agree with wp.org 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

Goolytics – Simple Google Analytics shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3236 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #3 4 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #4 5 Shariff Wrapper 30K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #5 6 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #15 ↑4 6 too low 10 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus, Campaign Monitor & Moosend 40K+ · 4.3★ (190) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 exovia GDPR Google Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #7 ↑2 5 too high 13 Advanced Popups 60K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 too high 14 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Intuitive Custom Post Order 400K+ · 4.4★ (139) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #10 ↓4 6 too high 17 Goolytics – Simple Google Analytics 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 Analytics Germanized for Google Analytics (GDPR / DSGVO) 7K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #18 19 IndexNow Plugin 100K+ · 3.2★ (47) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 WP Search with Algolia 7K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 SMNTCS Quantity Increment Buttons for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too high 23 LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Gulf currencies Symbols for WooCommerce – رمز الريال السعودي والدرهم الإماراتي 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 3 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.