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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “slug column”

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 “slug column”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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 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

Slug Search and Admin Columns shows at wp.org #2 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin Slug Column 5K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #1 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #12 ↓3 8 too low 5 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #9 ↑6 3 too low 7 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Perfect Brands for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.7★ (414) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #16 ↓4 4 too low 13 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Permalink Manager Lite 100K+ · 4.8★ (176) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #14 ↑3 3 too high 18 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Slugmatic – Sortable Slug Columns for Any Post Type 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 Slug Search and Admin Columns 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 19 too high 22 Essential Content Types 20K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #5 17 too high 23 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Unique Slug Checker 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓5 3 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.