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

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

Younited Pay Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #16 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 20+ 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

Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget places #4 on merit, 4.5★ from 103 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 پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Solar Wizard Lite 200+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #3 4 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too low 5 Datafeedr Comparison Sets 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 DWL Preloader 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 NINZ Icons for Elementor 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Solar Calculator 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Genolve – AI Business Graphics, Images & Video 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 12 too low 11 Smart Forms & Calculators By Embed Sheets 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Veloxa Solar Widget – Solar Production Display — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 Emily Solar Concierge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 ConvertCalculator: Build Cost, Price, Quotation, ROI Interactive Calculators 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Easy Install Solar Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 LumiVoltech Solar Lead Funnel — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Hayyat Apps Solar Lead Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Solar Lead Capture Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 SaasPricing – Advanced Pricing & Comparison Tables for Elementor 400+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 S SolarDawn Sunrise & Sunset Widget 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Material Dashboard 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Younited Pay Payment Gateway 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 TheAVCoach Weather Station for WeatherLink 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Solar Energy Simulator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.