Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “smiles”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 20. 4 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

SMiLE Basic Web shows at wp.org #6 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Kama WP Smiles 300+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 wp-Monalisa 600+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Marker.io – Visual Website Feedback 4K+ · 5.0★ (44) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Fluent Booking – The Ultimate Appointments Scheduling, Events Booking, Events Calendar Solution 20K+ · 4.7★ (46) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Rencontre – Dating Site 200+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too high 9 Automated FedEx live/manual rates with shipping labels – HPOS supported 200+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Automated UPS Shipping for WooCommerce – HPOS supported 100+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #10 11 Page as 404 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 12 SMiLE Basic Web 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 Banana Addons for Elementor — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Automated Aramex Express live/manual shipping rates, labels and pickup 90+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Automated Canada Post – HPOS Supported 20+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Squad Form Styler – Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms, and Fluent Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Worthless Plugin — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Face Analysis Quiz & Age Guesser Widget — Interactive Content by RealSmile — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Branching Software Chemical Structure Search for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Bibcit Any2HTML — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 WriteUp — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Nibble Make an Offer App 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Grinner Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Noesia Smart Waiter — · 0.0★ (0) 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.