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

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 “single”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

WPC Show Single Variations for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #1 2 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #13 ↑4 9 too low 5 Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #4 ↑18 1 too high 6 Variations as Single Product – Display Single Variation for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #3 ↓1 3 too high 7 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Export Single Post Page 3K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #2 ↑1 7 too high 10 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #18 ↓3 8 too low 11 Event Single Page Builder For The Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too high 12 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #16 ↓5 4 too low 13 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Duplicate Page 3M+ · 4.8★ (466) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 Min Max Control – Min Max Quantity & Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Remove SKU From Single Product page 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 WPC Show Single Variations for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.3★ (11) wp.org #6 ↓1 15 too high 22 Show Variations as Single Products for WooCommerce 400+ · 3.1★ (18) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Single Product Total for WooCommerce 80+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 S Single Product in Cart 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 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.