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

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 “standalone”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Dchamplegacy Standalone Payments for PesaPal shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 2354 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #3 4 Performance Lab 100K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #7 ↑4 1 too low 7 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #16 ↑7 9 too low 8 MJDD Sidrena Cijena 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (220) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Ultimate Product Catalog 4K+ · 4.5★ (233) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 JVM Rich Text Icons 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 Milo Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce and Recurring Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too high 16 WP Go Maps Block 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 WPC Grouped Product for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Forumax – AI Powered Advanced Community Forum Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 WPC Composite Products for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.6★ (76) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Unbounce Landing Pages 10K+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #9 ↓2 13 too high 23 Kustom Checkout for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.5★ (15) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Dchamplegacy Standalone Payments for PesaPal 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 16 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.