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

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 “silly”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Squelch Unspam shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Image Wall places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 54 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #1 2 Projectopia – Project Management Tool 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 LifterLMS Labs 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Shortcode Widget 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 pipDisqus – Lightweight Disqus Comments 200+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 BNE Testimonials 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Manual Related Posts 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Image Wall 100+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #19 ↑1 11 too low 9 D Disable User Gravatar 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 10 Block Comment Spam Bots 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 B Blog-in-Blog 800+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Bitcoin and Altcoin Wallets 50+ · 4.8★ (27) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 Calendar 4K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 WP Google Analytics Events – No-Code Custom Event Tracking for Google Analytics 5K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Embeds for YouTube 9K+ · 4.2★ (24) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Formidable Select OptGroup 10+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Advanced Post Manager 4K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Chessgame Shizzle 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Reading Time by ReadyGo – Read Time, Progress Bar & Archive Support 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Worthless Plugin — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 BMLT WordPress Satellite 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 W WP Log Action 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Vampire Character Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Squelch Unspam 50+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #8 16 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.