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

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 “searchwp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Ajax Load More for SearchWP shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SearchWP Live Ajax Search 40K+ · 4.7★ (36) wp.org #1 2 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too low 3 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 SearchWP Modal Search Form 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Relevanssi Live Ajax Search 7K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Product Code for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 FOMO & Social Proof Notifications by TrustPulse – Best WordPress FOMO Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 Feeds for TikTok (TikTok feed, video, and gallery plugin) 70K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 Transients Manager 20K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #21 ↓2 7 too low 15 PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 8K+ · 4.3★ (37) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 WP Client Reports 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 FV Simpler SEO 2K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Ajax Load More for SearchWP 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 14 too high 20 Super Ajax Search 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Lost Search Result Tracker 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Sieve – Faceted Filter for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 WPChat – Live Chat & Messaging Widget for Customer Support 6K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Rankology Ajax Live Search — · 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.