Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “ruby”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Simple REST API Authenticaton with WooCommerce Credentials shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60+ 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 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #2 3 Kraken.io Image Optimizer – Compress, Convert to WebP & AVIF, Resize & Bulk Optimize 10K+ · 4.5★ (119) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 License Manager for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (147) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5 WP-Yomigana 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 CodeColorer 1K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 U Urvanov Syntax Highlighter 3K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 LWSCache 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 9 Pixel Gallery Addons for Elementor 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Code Snippet DM 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Ruby Mega Menu 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Vaaky Highlighter — Syntax Highlighter, Code Blocks, Line Numbers for Gutenberg 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Ruby Markup Converter — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Ruby Relay — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 Store Locator Widget 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 Simple REST API Authenticaton with WooCommerce Credentials 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Formdev 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Keyideas Jewelry Filter & Search — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Y Youbou Code Block — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 ProductLift: Feedback, Roadmap, Changelog, Knowledge Base — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 iG:Syntax Hiliter 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 LoyaltySpin — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 WPBetterCodeHighlighting — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 WebberZone Code Block Highlighting — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.