Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Genesis Beta Tester shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ 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

Simple Social Icons places #12 on merit, 4.3★ from 92 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 Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Genesis Simple Hooks 20K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Genesis eNews Extended 40K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #5 6 Genesis Blocks 40K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Fullwidth Templates for Any Theme & Page Builder 20K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Genesis Simple Menus 2K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Genesis Connect for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Genesis Custom Blocks 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 SEO Data Transporter 2K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Simple Social Icons 100K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 WPB Popup for Contact Form 7 – Showing Contact Form 7 Popup on Button Click 5K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Genesis Featured Page Advanced 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Atlas Content Modeler 90+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Ads for Genesis 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑4 5 too high 20 Genesis Beta Tester 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Genesis Portfolio Pro 5K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Sigmize: A/B Testing, Session Recordings, Heatmaps & Revenue Tracking for WooCommerce, SureCart & EDD 5K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 Simple URLs Legacy 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 24 Author Bio On Hover – Author Box 40+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #22 2 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.