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← Rankings

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

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 “shorttag”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 10 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

WP Snakemember Integration shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 20+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Shariff Wrapper 30K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 C CP Reservation Calendar 10+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 LAPDI Authors Note 10+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 V Vanilla PDF Embed 3K+ · 4.6★ (32) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 W WP Social AutoConnect 400+ · 4.4★ (13) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 GiveWP Donation Widgets for Elementor 6K+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #7 8 Delete Thumbnails 100+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 Meteohub 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Maileon for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 G Gallery with No Image Links 100+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 T Tag Cloud Shortcode 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 ICDSoft Reseller Store 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 C cbnet Multi Author Comment Notification 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Code formatter for PowerBI 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Good Reads Books 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 feuerball3D – 360° animations — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 WP Snakemember Integration 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Simple Clinic 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 B Blog Members Directory shortcode 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 U User Info Login Shortcode 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Radeet pdf Embed 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 AKM Feedback Form 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 B BSTabs 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.