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

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 detector”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Shortcodes Analyzer shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 154 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 Widget Detector for Elementor 1K+ · 4.9★ (39) wp.org #1 2 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #2 3 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #3 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Font Awesome 400K+ · 3.6★ (61) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Shared Files – File Upload & Download Manager 3K+ · 4.4★ (34) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Post Export Import with Media 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #12 13 Event Koi Lite – Events Calendar, Event Management, RSVP, and Tickets 60+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 RS WP Book Showcase – A Complete Book Catalogue & Library System 1K+ · 3.9★ (25) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Opace AI Scribe: SEO Content Creator & Humanizer for OpenAI, Anthropic & Gemini 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Shortcodes Analyzer 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 JetBlocker — Anti AdBlock & Revenue Recovery 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑3 11 too high 19 AI Face Shape Detector Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 IP Locator 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 Guardian – Conflict Detector & Safe Updates — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Piano 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 LLM Bot Tracker – AI Crawler Detection & Analytics 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 SimplyBook.me – Booking and reservations calendar 30K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.