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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple series”

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 “simple series”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Seriously Simple Stats shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. places #12 on merit, 4.1★ from 284 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 Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) wp.org #1 2 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #2 3 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Simple Page Access Restriction 6K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #11 12 Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Registrations for the Events Calendar – Event Registration Plugin 7K+ · 5.0★ (103) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Visualizer – Tables & Charts Manager with Built-in AI Generator 20K+ · 4.4★ (225) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Books Gallery – Book Showcase, Library & Affiliate Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Seriously Simple Stats 5K+ · 3.6★ (13) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Advanced Sermons 1K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Email Marketing by EmailOctopus 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WPC Grouped Product for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Simple Course Creator 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.