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

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 “sim”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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

Ultimate Push Notifications shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pix por Piggly (para Woocommerce) places #3 on merit, 4.5★ from 73 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Project Management, Bug and Issue Tracking Plugin – Software Issue Manager 20+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Daisycon prijsvergelijkers 400+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Pix por Piggly (para Woocommerce) 4K+ · 4.5★ (73) wp.org #14 11 too low 4 Clickable Links, Convert Plain text Post URLs to Hyperlinks 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Virtuaria Rede ( Itaú ) Pagamentos 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Simulador de Parcelas para Loja Virtual 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 S Sim Site Maintenance — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 w4os – OpenSimulator Web Interface 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 SMS8 – SMS Gateway for WooCommerce, Order Notifications, OTP Login & 2FA via Android 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Remove Special Characters on Upload 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 T Tsjippy Default Pictures — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 T Tsjippy Daily Message — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 Envio Ecom — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 nextSIM for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 inSIM — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Ardary SMS — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 GoUltra Auth — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 SimVox eSIM Integration — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 Sell eSIM 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 iaRe CRM — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Affiliate Boost 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Order Notifications from Your Phone – SMSMobileAPI 20+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑3 13 too high 23 Ultimate Push Notifications 50+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 SMSTunnel — · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #11 13 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.