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

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

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

Spam Captcha – Safeguard your WordPress website effortlessly with Spam Captcha for WordPress shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense places #2 on merit, 4.9★ from 1087 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #10 8 too low 3 Open Links in SL 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 SL Currency Symbol Changer 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Auto Capitalize & UPPERCASE Names and Addresses 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Accesibilidad Web con el Widget de AccedeMe 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Progus Store Locator Map (No API Key Required) 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Accessibility Assistant – EAA ADA WCAG AODA 100+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 Spexo Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets, Mega Menu, Popup Builder, Template Kits and Starter Templates for Elementor 6K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Sri Lankan Cities for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 MeinTurnierplan 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓3 9 too low 13 SL Gift Cards & Store Credits — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 The Word Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 SL Bank Pricing for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 PressPilot Email Template Customizer 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too low 17 SLS Return Requests for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 ICON SL – Smart AI Search — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 B2Brouter for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 King Addons for Elementor – 100+ Elementor Widgets, 4 000+ Elementor Templates, WooCommerce Builder, Mega Menu, Popup Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓7 2 too high 21 Order Status & Tracking Emails for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Chitta Behavioral AI Chatbot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 Spam Captcha – Safeguard your WordPress website effortlessly with Spam Captcha for WordPress 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 VIESAC – Free VAT Validation for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.