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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “roster system”

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 “roster system”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More shows at wp.org #4 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange places #4 on merit, 4.6★ from 356 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Dynamic Team Manager – Team Member Showcase with grid, slider, table Elementor widget & shortcode 900+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 WP Roster 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Live Event Seating Lite – Seating Chart, Floor Plan, RSVP & Event Ticket 40+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 File Uploads Addon for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑4 5 too high 10 Buying Buddy IDX CRM – Real Estate MLS Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 WP Club Manager – WordPress Sports Club Plugin 600+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 AnWP Football Leagues 700+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 LuviaEdu – School Management System — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓2 5 too high 14 LabelGrid Tools 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Schema Blocks 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 Dienstplan 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑3 1 too high 17 Koinonia Link 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Playard — Sports Facility Booking System for Courts, Fields, Pitches, Venues and More 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑3 1 too low 19 Papex University Schedule 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Xtreme Courses 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 CourseGlade LMS – Online Course & eLearning Platform 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 Clanbite: Team Management System — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Sikshya LMS – LMS Course Builder, Online Courses & eLearning 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 CourseStorm Class Registration for WordPress 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 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.