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

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 “selector”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Hide Login Language Selector shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20+ 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

Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 GravityWP – CSS Selector 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #1 ↑5 1 too high 3 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #6 ↑2 3 too low 4 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too low 6 D Dropdown Multisite Selector 900+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #4 ↓2 2 too high 7 SiteOrigin CSS 100K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 A Adminimize 100K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) wp.org #13 ↓7 1 too low 13 Disable Login Language Selector 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↑1 10 too high 14 reSmush.it : The original free image compressor and optimizer plugin 100K+ · 4.3★ (166) wp.org #19 ↑2 5 too low 15 Query Loop Post Selector 600+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 ↓2 10 too high 16 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #23 ↓8 7 too low 17 Equal Height Columns 10K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #24 ↓3 7 too low 18 Copy Anything to Clipboard for WordPress – Copy Button, Copy Text & Copy Code 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Number of Products per Page – Pagination Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 matchHeight 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 WPSSO User Locale Selector 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑2 11 too high 22 JSM User Locale Selector 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Hide Login Language Selector 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 ACF City Selector 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 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.