Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “restful”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

RESTful Content Syndication shows at wp.org #1 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 70+ 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

Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 JSON API User 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #7 5 too low 3 JSON API Auth 600+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #3 4 Salon Booking System – Appointment Booking for Salons, Barbershops & Spas 2K+ · 4.4★ (187) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Tainacan 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 ACF Galerie 4 2K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) 9K+ · 4.6★ (244) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 RESTful Content Syndication 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 ACF Photo Gallery Field 60K+ · 4.0★ (29) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 HIPAA Compliant Forms with Drag’n’Drop HIPAA Form Builder. Sign HIPAA documents 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 imoje 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Porsline 300+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Transcoder 400+ · 3.6★ (8) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Payment gateway via Teya RPG for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 RESTful JSON API 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑7 7 too high 17 BrainCert Virtual Classroom 10+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 B Bizuno RESTful API for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 B Bizuno RESTful Sales Tax for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 JSON API Cincopa 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 S Sodexo for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 WPKuaiYun 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Gallery 5cript — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 R RT Webhook for Contact Form 7 100+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.