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

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 “sunset”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 3 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

Caldera Forms Google Sheets Connector shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ 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

Stripe Payment Forms by WP Simple Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments + Subscriptions with Stripe places #5 on merit, 4.4★ from 117 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #9 7 too low 3 Weather Widget Pro 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Rename Media Files: Improve Your SEO 8K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too low 5 Stripe Payment Forms by WP Simple Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments + Subscriptions with Stripe 8K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 S Seamless Donations is Sunset 2K+ · 4.1★ (70) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Web Worker Offloading 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #1 6 too high 8 AboveWP Admin Dark Mode 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Weather Atlas Widget 8K+ · 4.1★ (41) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 Right Click Ban – Disable Right Click & Content Copy Protection 400+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 S SolarDawn Sunrise & Sunset Widget 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Digital Clock 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14 Under The Weather 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Autobute – Auto Image Alt Text, Title & Caption for Image SEO 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 9 too high 16 OXP Breaking News Ticker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 Glitter Bomb 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑2 5 too low 18 LMSCrafter Gradient Text for Elementor 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Caldera Forms Google Sheets Connector 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 Yuhi — Smarter Content Controls 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Survey Form Block 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 S Sunset Core 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WBD Progress Bar For Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Vampire Character Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.