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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “string finder”

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 “string finder”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

FOXPOST – Packeta Group shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ 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

Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 184 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 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Custom field finder 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Connect Polylang for Elementor 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 WP Hooks Finder 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 annasta Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #16 ↓4 7 too low 10 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 F FeedWordPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (61) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 Source Lens – Code Finder 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 Post Export Import with Media 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Year Make Model Search for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #24 ↓4 10 too low 15 Houzez Property Feed 1K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Custom WP Store Locator 300+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Locatoraid Store Locator 1K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 10 too high 19 Media Purge – Unused Media Cleaner & Duplicate Finder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑2 8 too high 20 WPFalcons String Finder & Debug Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Dummy Users Finder & Cleaner 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 TNT AI Writer – AI Content Generator, Trending Topic Finder & SEO Draft Writer 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑6 5 too high 23 Form Finder for Ninja Forms — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 FOXPOST – Packeta Group 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.