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

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 replacement”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

String Replacer shows at wp.org #3 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Responsive Lightbox & Gallery places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2003 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Say What? 40K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #6 ↑10 4 too low 3 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 Text Replace – Find and Replace WordPress Strings 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #12 ↓3 6 too low 7 Gwolle Guestbook 20K+ · 4.8★ (113) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ · 4.9★ (2003) wp.org #21 ↓2 11 too low 11 Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #11 12 Multi Step Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #7 ↑1 5 too high 13 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #24 ↓2 10 too low 15 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 wp-Typography 10K+ · 4.6★ (71) wp.org #16 17 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 Override String Translations 1K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #4 ↑1 15 too high 20 String Replacer 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 17 too high 21 I iframe 60K+ · 4.4★ (56) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too high 23 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.5★ (17) wp.org #10 14 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.