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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shift schedule”

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 “shift schedule”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

Business Hours & Holiday Schedule Manager shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ShiftController Employee Shift Scheduling 600+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #1 2 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Radio Station by netmix® – Manage and play your Show Schedule in WordPress! 1K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too low 6 Advanced Cron Manager – debug & control 30K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #6 ↓2 7 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #20 ↓9 12 too low 9 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 Open Close Store for WooCommerce – Business Hours & Order Scheduling 600+ · 3.4★ (41) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Rearrange Products for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Super Advent Calendar 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 5K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 VikAppointments Services Booking Calendar 500+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Event Organiser 20K+ · 4.6★ (140) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Business Hours & Holiday Schedule Manager 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑14 13 too high 18 FoodOrd – Online Food Ordering & Table Reservation System 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 WebChange Detector: Visual Regression Testing & Visual Checks After Updates 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Clockinator Lite 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Papex University Schedule 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 YPSupport Shift Scheduler — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 Fire Department Shift Calendar 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too high 24 Watso – Basic Help Chat Button 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.