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

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 “sepia”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

CP Image Store with Slideshow shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF 30K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #1 2 Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 3 Simple Ebook Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Quick Maps – Google Maps Without API Key 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Before After Slider for WooCommerce – eBEAF 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 EDigital Accessibility Tools and Statement 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 JetReader – Book Library, EPUB & PDF Reader (Lite) 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Namoman Image Editor (NIE) 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Gallery for Google Photos – share your albums right on your site 1K+ · 2.7★ (6) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 WP Distraction Free View 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Simple Accessibility Tools — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Filteralia image style filters mixer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Web To Print Shop : Core 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Advanced Image for Gutenberg Block Editor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 Glass Act – Backdrop Filters for Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 Advanced Pixel Editor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Beforely – Before After Image Slider — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Login Styler – Customize WordPress Login Page — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 Conobe Before & After Image Slider — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Printcart Canvas – Canvas Print Designer & Edge-Wrap Preview for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Flipset – PDF Viewer, PDF Embed, 3D Flipbook & Document Library — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Jim – Accessible Converter — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24 CP Image Store with Slideshow 10+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.