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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “screenshots testing”

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

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Admin Screenshots shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 10+ 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 Shopping Cart places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 215 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #6 ↑8 2 too low 5 Inline Related Posts 100K+ · 4.3★ (77) wp.org #5 6 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 WebChange Detector: Visual Regression Testing & Visual Checks After Updates 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Shortcode in Menus 50K+ · 4.7★ (82) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Advanced Free Shipping for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.8★ (122) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 J jQuery Updater 20K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 VRTs – Visual Regression Tests 800+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 WordPress Beta Tester 2K+ · 4.0★ (47) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 NOWPayments for WooCommerce – Crypto Payment Gateway 3K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 Admin Screenshots 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 SamedayCourier Shipping 4K+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 BugHerd 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Capture – Screenshots & PDF 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.