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

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 “shortcake”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

TripPlan shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

eRoom – Webinar & Meeting Plugin for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams places #9 on merit, 4.1★ from 68 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Team List 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 2 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #7 5 too low 3 Auto iFrame 3K+ · 3.6★ (18) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 F Featured Image Thumbnail Grid 300+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 BeerXML Shortcode 100+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 M Chart 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 GD Rating System 1K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 GDPR Data Request Form 5K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 eRoom – Webinar & Meeting Plugin for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams 8K+ · 4.1★ (68) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 WP Crowdfunding 2K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 B BSK PDF Manager 7K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Shortcake (Shortcode UI) 10K+ · 4.1★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 ChainKitWP Crypto Token Ticker 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Draft List 40+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 Hamazon 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Vector Search With Typesense — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 TripPlan 10+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Modern Design Library 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Minute Video 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Results of AEW — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Latest Post Link Shortcode 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 bbboing 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Gallery for Posts 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 wpsmegamenu — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.