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

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

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

Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Shortcode for Current Date places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 116 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 Shortcode in Menus 50K+ · 4.7★ (82) wp.org #1 2 Shortcode Widget 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #2 3 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Shortcode Redirect 10K+ · 4.3★ (31) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #5 6 Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything 100K+ · 4.9★ (227) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Simple Divi Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 Spotlight Social Feeds – Block, Shortcode, and Widget 60K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Latest Post Shortcode 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #10 11 Snippet Shortcodes 4K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Shortcode for Current Date 10K+ · 5.0★ (116) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Shortcodes Finder 4K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #14 15 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (213) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 Easy Bootstrap Shortcode 6K+ · 4.0★ (50) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Arconix Shortcodes 4K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Nested Shortcodes 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Current Year Shortcode VICT 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 21 MachForm Shortcode 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 S Simple Membership Form Shortcode 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Shortcode for Font Awesome 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24 B Basic URL ShortCodes 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24

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.