Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “subsection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20.

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

Goodtill Stock Sync shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Recipe Cards For Your Food Blog from Zip Recipes places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 95 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 Hide Categories and Products for Woocommerce 10K+ · 4.1★ (29) wp.org #1 2 weDocs: AI Powered Knowledge Base, Docs, Documentation, Wiki & AI Chatbot 5K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #2 3 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Export Plugins and Templates 1K+ · 4.4★ (12) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Recipe Cards For Your Food Blog from Zip Recipes 1K+ · 4.8★ (95) wp.org #24 ↓1 18 too low 7 Scheduled & Automatic Order Status Controller for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 WSB HUB3 1K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #22 ↓1 14 too low 9 Price by Quantity & Bulk Quantity Discounts for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓1 10 too low 10 Checkout Files Upload for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 Coupons & Add to Cart by URL Links for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Product Visibility by User Role for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Page Parts 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 Slash Admin 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Netcash WooCommerce Payment Gateway 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Payments via PayMongo for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 AAWEB Announcement Bar 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 Shipping Methods By Classes 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 ThemePlus – Modern Theme Options Framework by FrontTheme — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Dream Agility – Tracking Pixel 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 GoBTC Pay for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 FYP Table of Contents – Automatic TOC Generator for Better SEO & Navigation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 Goodtill Stock Sync 60+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑3 19 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.