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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ship log”

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 “ship log”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Ship Discounts shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #1 2 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #2 3 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #3 4 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #8 9 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Cookies, Terms & Conditions Consent Log 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 EU Withdrawal and Legal Guarantee Compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Who Changed It? – Activity Log & Audit Trail 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Wonderful SMTP Mailer and Log 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 EnvíaYa: Ship with all carriers (Rating, Booking and Tracking) 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 ShipAny WooCommerce: Ship, Label, Tracking 200+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 JD Web & Ship 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Ship Discounts 100+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #5 19 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.