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

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 “street”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

ElementInvader Addons for Elementor shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 3K+ 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

Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 284 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Flexible Map 7K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too low 3 WP Open Street Map 3K+ · 3.9★ (10) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Inline Related Posts 100K+ · 4.3★ (77) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too low 5 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 WP Google Review Slider 30K+ · 4.9★ (373) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Ultimate Maps by Supsystic – OpenStreetMap, Leaflet & Mapbox, No API Key 10K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Address Autocomplete Anything – Google Address Autocomplete for Any Form 900+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 WP Google Street View (with 360° virtual tour) & Google maps + Local SEO 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Simple Shortcode for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Very Simple Google Maps 3K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 Portugal States (Distritos) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 WP GPX Maps 4K+ · 4.1★ (59) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Mobile Call Now & Map Buttons 4K+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #13 ↓3 2 too high 16 WP MapIt 2K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 Houzez Property Feed 1K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Second Street 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 MyParcel 8K+ · 3.9★ (48) wp.org #20 ↓5 21 Shipping Zones by Drawing for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.1★ (24) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Block Emails & Addresses for WooCommerce Checkout 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 Portugal CTT Tracking for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 ElementInvader Addons for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓2 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.