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

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 “rides”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Arts Horizontal Scroll for Elementor shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 80+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 WP LinkedIn Auto Publish 8K+ · 4.8★ (106) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 MyCryptoCheckout – Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 100+ altcoins for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.3★ (49) wp.org #3 4 WP GPX Maps 4K+ · 4.1★ (59) wp.org #4 5 Flexible PDF Coupons – Gift Cards & Vouchers for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 MZ Mindbody API 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 European VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Magic Export & Import 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Rox Appointment Booking – Event, Calendar & Appointment Scheduling 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Email Inquiry & Cart Options for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.2★ (20) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 LATW AI Translation for WPML 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 Elevator 20+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓4 14 Arts Horizontal Scroll for Elementor 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 a3 Portfolio 100+ · 3.0★ (12) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 TaxiWebBooker 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 a3 Responsive Slider 200+ · 2.6★ (8) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Zamok – Security and Site Tools 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 getSync – Staging to Live Content Sync 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 NMR Strava activities 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling – Zoe Booking 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓7 22 Chauffeur Booking 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 TaxiAppli Réservations — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓3 24 SpreadsheetConverter Calculator 500+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 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.