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

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 “stan”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 16. 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

MITS Image Optimizer shows at wp.org #12 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 4 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 My auctions allegro 500+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #8 7 too low 2 Mass Resizer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 MT Addons for Elementor 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Stan, la solution de paiement sans carte 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 5 Stan Checkout — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Convertor valutar curs 3 Banci: BNR, BCR si BT 10+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 10 too low 7 WPBetterCodeHighlighting — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 MyRentBook 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 CrawlWatch – AI Bot Insights — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Ads Bot AI dla WC — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Curs Valutar Live BNR 70+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 S Storyficator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 OpenAI Ads and ChatGPT Ads for WooCommerce – HostedFeed 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 Precision Live Rates for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 SerwerSMS.pl 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 MITS Image Optimizer 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 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.