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

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 “siblings”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Upload Media Exif Date shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ 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

Broadcast places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 214 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #1 2 CC Child Pages 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Bulk Media Register 8K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Moving Media Library 2K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 800+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 Broadcast 1K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #23 16 too low 8 Exif Caption 600+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Media from ZIP 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Fast Etsy Listings 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Ele Conditions for Elementor 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Better Section Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 Fast eBay Listings 400+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Genealogical Tree – Family Tree & Ancestry for WordPress 600+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Pattern CSS – The CSS Editor For Blocks 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Upload Media Exif Date 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Successful Redirection for Contact Form 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 UserAgent Themes Switcher 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑2 6 too high 19 UserAgent Content Switcher 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑2 6 too high 20 Moving Contents 60+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 ZIP from Media 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Exif Details 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Plugin Stats View 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Zen Site Security 60+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.