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

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 “swarm”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Impress Living Backgrounds shows at wp.org #5 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Kredeum NFTs, the easiest way to sell your NFTs directly on your WordPress site 20+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #3 1 too low 3

SmartVideo – Video Player and CDN 1K+ · 4.1★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #13 10 too low 4

Bastora Security Audit 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #2 3 too high 6

Micropub 200+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7

Bot Storm Radar — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 3 too high 8 K Keyring Social Importers 70+ · 5.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9

Impress Living Backgrounds — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 4 too high 10

Post Kinds for IndieWeb in Block Themes 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑3 4 too high 11 T Torrent Scraper for Blogs and Forums — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12

HejBit Decentralised Backup — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13

ViewMedica 9 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14

VelocityIndex Lite — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #15 1 too low 15

Checkin 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16

Whereabouts: Swarm 20+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 2 too high 17 T Traverse Digital — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 18 W WP Quadratum 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 S Swarm Removal Search by Zipcode — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20

Kripto Para Dönüştürücü ve Döviz Hesaplama 40+ · 3.5★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 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.