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

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 “sweepstakes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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

Viral Loops WP Integration shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Contests by Rewards Fuel places #5 on merit, 4.4★ from 65 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #1 2 Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #2 3 Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #3 4 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #4 5 Contests by Rewards Fuel 40+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #6 7 Simple Giveaways – Grow your business, email lists and traffic with contests 400+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Gratisfaction- Contests Giveaways Referral Loyalty Rewards and Birthdays Program 20+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Run Contests, Raffles, and Giveaways with ContestsWP 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 UncommonGood Donation Widget — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Woobox 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Socialman – The Ultimate Giveaway & Contest Plugin for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 13 Dot Embed 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 Click Counter and Heat Maps (Free) 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 Pay4All WIN — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 No Frills Prize Draw Competitions 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 L Lottery Number Supplier 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Viral Loops WP Integration 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 S Sweepstakes app 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 A Ads Campaigns 10+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 S Sweepstakes 10+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #21

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.