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

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 “sustainability”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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 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

WebDiagnosis Site Audit shows at wp.org #13 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 10+ 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 Product Tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #1 2 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Disable AI 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 4 Enfants IMG Performer 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Instant Back/Forward 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Live Shipping Rates Australia for woocommerce – Get real-time shipping rates for your store 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 7 Riverty Payments for Woocommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Uplink Analytics Dashboard for Cabin 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 ConvertCalculator: Build Cost, Price, Quotation, ROI Interactive Calculators 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 GreenMetrics – Website Carbon Footprint, Sustainability & Performance Metrics 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 Hotel Guest Guide – Hotelness 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑6 2 too high 12 Lazy Embed 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 Website Carbon Calculator 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Wisdom Journal Manager – Research Paper/Process Management 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 ProRank SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 Carbonfooter 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 WebDiagnosis Site Audit 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 carbon.txt, DIST Schema & CSRD Reports for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 GreenAudit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 GreenTrace Carbon Rating Badge and Reports — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 Solo — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 SEM GRUP KVKK Uyumluluk Eklentisi — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 PackVerity — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Shipping Guard – Advanced Shipping Suite, Weight Based Shipping, Zero Emission & Protection — · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.