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

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 “state”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 6 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

Show State Field for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 90+ 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

Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3026 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Country State City Dropdown CF7 5K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #1 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #6 ↑2 3 too low 4 Portugal States (Distritos) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #7 ↑7 1 too low 7 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too low 8 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #24 ↓6 15 too low 10 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #23 ↓3 13 too low 11 Country and State Selection Addon for Gravity Forms 900+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 Database Reset 10K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #9 ↓2 5 too high 15 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #15 16 Flat Rate per State/Country/Region for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 WC – APG Weight Shipping 6K+ · 4.3★ (49) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Plugins Condition & Site Check 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Block Metrics – Animated State Counter 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 12 too high 21 Show State Field for WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 16 too high 22 WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.0★ (105) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) wp.org #18 ↓6 6 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.