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

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 “scary”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Sandbox Site powered by Playground shows at wp.org #3 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) places #2 on merit, 4.9★ from 159 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

SendWP 10K+ · 4.1★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) not PHP-current wp.org #7 5 too low 3

Toolbelt 300+ · 5.0★ (16) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Speed Booster Pack ⚡ PageSpeed Optimization Suite 8K+ · 4.3★ (186) wp.org #8 4 too low 5

Split Pay – Stripe Connect Split Payments & Multi-Vendor Marketplace for WooCommerce & FluentCart 100+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #10 5 too low 6

Codiecool Action Guard for AI Agents — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #2 4 too high 7

AI Search for WooCommerce — Semantic & Live Search 80+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Milardovich Extra Coupon Features — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 3 too high 9

RestorePilot Backup & Migration — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 3 too high 10

Sandbox Site powered by Playground 30+ · 4.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #3 7 too high 11

Coronavirus Spread Prediction Tools Free Version 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 12 W WP Google Charts 50+ · 4.7★ (3) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 7 too low 13 W WPR Halloween Scare 10+ · 5.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too low 14 D Disallow Pwned Password 10+ · 5.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too low 15

Halloween Panda 100+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 2 too high 16

Ravnsight Detective – Diagnose Errors & Changes — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 2 too high 17 R Responsive Pricing Tables and Info Boxes 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 1 too high 18 W WP TagMan 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 6 too high 19 S Style My Tweets 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20

Three Object Viewer 20+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 5 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.