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← Rankings

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

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 “searchable”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Block for Font Awesome Icons – Searchable Icon Picker, SVG, FA 7 shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #1 2 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Flamingo 800K+ · 4.2★ (121) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too low 6 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 Product Table for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (295) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #6 ↑2 8 too high 15 WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #10 ↑5 6 too high 17 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Block for Font Awesome Icons – Searchable Icon Picker, SVG, FA 7 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 Filter Gallery 3K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Entryway – WP Login & Logout Redirect 6K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Ultimate Searchable Accordion Lite – WPBakery Page Builder Addon 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓3 8 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.