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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rss feed error”

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 “rss feed error”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Admin Dashboard RSS Feed shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ 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

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 491 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 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #1 2 Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #2 3 WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #3 4 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – RexFeed – Sell on 200+ Shopping Channels 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #10 ↑5 1 too low 10 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Import XML and RSS Feeds 2K+ · 3.8★ (24) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Zen Feed 400+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 RSS Feed Pro 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Admin Dashboard RSS Feed 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 14 too high 20 Whitespace Fixer for XML Sitemap 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 RSS Control 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑13 10 too high 22 RSS Chimp – Add Featured Images to WP RSS Feeds (Mailchimp, Google News, Feedly) 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 Feed Post Thumbnail 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too high 24 RSS Retriever Lite 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓7 7 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.