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

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 “series”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 178 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 Issues and Series for Newspapers, Magazines, Publishers, Writers 2K+ · 4.5★ (73) wp.org #1 2 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too low 3 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #6 ↓4 2 too low 5 WP Post Series 600+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #8 ↓4 2 too low 7 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #9 ↑15 2 too low 8 PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #13 ↑5 5 too low 9 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #11 ↓4 2 too low 10 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too low 11 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #7 ↑3 5 too high 13 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↑3 10 too high 14 PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too low 15 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #17 ↓5 2 too low 16 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #23 ↓4 7 too low 17 CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too high 18 GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #19 ↓4 1 too low 19 360 Javascript Viewer 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20 Advanced Sermons 1K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #20 ↓4 21 Toocheke Companion 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 Novelist 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 Content Update Scheduler 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too high 24 Email Marketing by EmailOctopus 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓5 2 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.