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← Rankings

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

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

AP Family Trees shows at wp.org #5 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 30+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 RootsPersona 400+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #1 2 YITH WooCommerce Affiliates 6K+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #2 3 SpeakOut! Email Petitions 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too low 4 BuddyMeet 600+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 SurveyJS: Drag & Drop Form Builder 500+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 ValidateCertify Free 900+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 GedShow 200+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Polanger Contact Chat – Mobile Call Button 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 VikWidgetsLoader – Collection of Widgets 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 AP Family Trees 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 AP One-Name Studies – Surname Study & Distribution Maps — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too high 12 WTC: Sözleşmeler, Kargo, SMS, İade, Form, OTP (SMS Doğrulama), Puan, Kupon Yönetimi 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Yuga Login Form — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 AP Family Archive – Genealogy Website from GEDCOM — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 FDN Newsletter Bridge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 ForeBranch — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 MirooCRM Sync for Contact Form 7 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 AP One-Place Studies – Parish & Village Record Studies — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 MKM Digital Connector for passFLY.PRO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 GoalPrevail Sales Pop — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 AP Family Research – Genealogy Research Log & Evidence — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Vinilogy Covers — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Bsaeed Family Tree Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 DFX Parish Retreat Letters — · 0.0★ (0) 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.