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

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 “santa”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Seasonal Popup shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its — 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

Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 149 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Weather Effect 4K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Rs Christmas Santa – Snowfall, Christmas Lights, Holiday Music, Flying Sleigh & Countdown 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Christmasify! 2K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Location Pack for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Christmas Countdown Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #6 7 Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 Christmas Panda 400+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Amministrazione Trasparente 1K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Versiculo del dia 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Colissimo shipping methods for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.7★ (28) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Mojito Shipping 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Flexible Wishlist for WooCommerce – Ecommerce Wishlist & Save for later 700+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 GMap Targeting – Simple Targeting Inside Google Maps 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 DigiFest — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 jQ Enchanter — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 zer0sh Site Health Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Christmas Snow Effects 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Seasonal Popup — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Shop Ingredients Button 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Glin Payments for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 C Christmas Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Chat App Brasil 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Happy Santa 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.