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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shuffle date”

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 “shuffle date”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Floating Side Tab shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4755 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 Frontend Post Submission Manager Lite – Guest Post and Frontend Submission Forms 1K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #1 2 AudioIgniter Music Player 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Advanced Query Loop 6K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Random Content 3K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Rearrange Products for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Quiz Cat – WordPress Quiz Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Floating Side Tab 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 Filterable Portfolio 1K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Random Image Block for Block Editor 100+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 FrontBlocks Site Tools 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Custom Social Profile Gallery 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Eventnetic – Event Tickets, Booking and Calendar 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 21 HT Portfolio – WordPress Portfolio Plugin for Elementor 300+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 WPost Still Fresh — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Content Forge – AI & non-AI content generator, scheduled AI posts, dummy data for your site 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 IGIT Related Posts and Post Nudges 100+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #15 9 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.