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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “share draft”

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 “share draft”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Erdo Draft Links – Share Drafts, Client Preview, Secure Link shows at wp.org #3 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 40+ 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

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 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 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too low 3 Share a Draft 3K+ · 3.7★ (11) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 WP-DraftsForFriends 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 Machete 6K+ · 5.0★ (52) wp.org #21 ↓5 5 too low 17 WP LinkedIn Auto Publish 8K+ · 4.8★ (106) wp.org #18 ↑4 1 too low 18 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #23 ↓8 5 too low 19 Duplicate PP 10K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 21 Erdo Draft Links – Share Drafts, Client Preview, Secure Link 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↑1 18 too high 22 Okto Shareable Draft Previews 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓2 18 too high 23 Tidy Draft Share – Shareable Draft Preview Links 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 Public Preview URL Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓4 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.