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

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 “retro”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

News Ticker – Floating Headlines & Sticky Alerts shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Soumettre.fr 10K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #7 5 too low 3 Retro Winamp Block 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 M Materialis Companion 6K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WP Retro Version Manager – Retro Themes and Plugins 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Giuliomax Menu Builder 20+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 17 too low 7 InDesign Random Quotes Widgets 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Bold Timeline Lite 10K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Digital Clock 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 CopyBlocker Pro – Content Protection 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 General Slider 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑5 12 Snake Retro Game Shortcode by Eskim 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Retro Arcade Page Destroyer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Advanced Testimonial 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑6 1 too high 15 myCred Addons – Ultimate myCred Modules To Support WordPress Gamification and Loyalty Rewards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Click Action Sounds – Click Sound Effects for Buttons, Links & Forms 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 G33Z3R Birthday Song & Retro Music Widgets — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 MWR Hit Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 Pong Block 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 OOW Custom Menu Shortcode 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 ButtonCraft Animated Buttons – With Click Analytics — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 News Ticker – Floating Headlines & Sticky Alerts 100+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 myCred Amelia – Gamification with Events & Appointments Booking 40+ · 1.7★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓3 8 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.