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← Rankings

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

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 “scenario”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Shiptastic for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1233 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #1 2 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #2 3 Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #3 4 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 D Disable "BIG Image" Threshold 10K+ · 4.2★ (35) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #18 ↓2 11 too low 8 Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (248) wp.org #8 ↑6 9 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #14 ↓7 5 too low 10 Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others 10K+ · 4.8★ (193) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 atec Cache APCu 3K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #4 ↑17 8 too high 13 A Attachment Pages Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (47) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 Loan Calculator WP 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 W WP Auto Updater 7K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 Shiptastic for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓1 13 too high 20 AliNext – AliExpress Dropshipping Plugin for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.3★ (53) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 WPC Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too high 22 Tag Pilot FREE – Google Tag Manager Integration for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 Composite Products – Conditional Images 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓2 13 too high 24 Custom Price for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.