Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “smilies”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Expandable Dashboard Recent Comments shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Editor Tools places #4 on merit, 4.5★ from 354 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #1 2 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #2 3 Keep Emoticons as Text 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #3 4 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 wp-Monalisa 600+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 R Raw HTML 10K+ · 4.3★ (33) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Emoji Settings 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 V Visual Term Description Editor 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Really Disable Emojis 700+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Text Replace 3K+ · 4.4★ (18) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 wp-greet 50+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 RumbleTalk Group Chat for Communities & Live Events 600+ · 3.4★ (21) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 Classic Smilies 200+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Expandable Dashboard Recent Comments 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Marketingbende Tiny Fixes — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 S searchReplace 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 L LJ-Moods 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 I I am Human 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 21 WPSN: Instant Social Network — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Convert Emoticons Font Awesome 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 TinyMCE Smiley Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Shoutbox 2024 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 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.