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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “speech navigation”

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 “speech navigation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

One Accessibility – WordPress Accessibility Plugin & ADA Compliance Widget shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 300+ 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

Survey Maker by AYS places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 79 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Screen Reader Accessibility – WCAG, Text-to-Speech & AI Accessibility Fixes 600+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #2 3 Text to Speech – TTSWP 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #4 5 HTML5 Audio Player – The Ultimate No-Code Podcast, MP3 & Audio Player 10K+ · 4.6★ (169) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Survey Maker by AYS 5K+ · 4.8★ (79) wp.org #17 ↓2 11 too low 7 Instaread Audio Player — Text-to-Speech & Article-to-Audio 90+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Accessibility Assistant – EAA ADA WCAG AODA 100+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Simple Ebook Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Real Accessibility: Accessibility Widget & Toolbar 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Web accessibility widget by tabnav 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 W WP WDFY Integration of Wodify 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 DJ-Accessibility – Accessibility Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 OXP Breaking News Ticker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15 Accessibility Audio TTS – Text To Speech for Articles — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 One Accessibility – WordPress Accessibility Plugin & ADA Compliance Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 Everyone Accessibility Suite – Free WCAG Accessibility Widget & Toolkit 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Accessibility Assistant – Readabler 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 ReachDeck Toolbar 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 EDigital Accessibility Tools and Statement 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 Mosne Text to Speech Block — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 AccessiWeb Widget 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 DSGN Accessibility Audit and Statement 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Zanderio AI 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.