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

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 “sina”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 7 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

Wetail Payments – Swish shows at wp.org #5 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 523 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 signals wp.org

Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Falang for Elementor Lite 400+ · 4.8★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #2 3

Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ · 4.4★ (1053) stale but ranked wp.org #6 3 too low 4

Cost of Goods: Product Cost & Profit Calculator for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (41) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share 100K+ · 4.8★ (523) wp.org #14 9 too low 6

Meks Smart Social Widget 10K+ · 4.6★ (10) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #4 2 too high 7

MW Font Changer 7K+ · 4.3★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk stale but ranked wp.org #8 1 too low 8

Meks Flexible Shortcodes 10K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Sina Weibo Like Buttons 20+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #9 1 too high 11

MonoVM Content Quality Checklist — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #7 4 too high 12

Wetail Payments – Swish 60+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 7 too high 13

Audio Widget 100+ · 5.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 3 too low 14

Xolo Addon 30+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 4 too high 15 W WP-TO-WEIBO 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 16 M myQaptcha 80+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 2 too low 17 新新浪云存储SCS-Support 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too low 18

SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #13 5 too high 19 W WeiBo TuChuang 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too low 20 O Open Lazy 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 3 too high 21 S Social QR Code Scan Me Anywhere 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Q Qudian — · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too high 23 S Sina Weibo Plugin for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24 新新浪连接 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews 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.