Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “swell”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 19. 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Relinka – Internal Linking & Orphan Page Finder shows at wp.org #10 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 40+ 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

Easy Updates Manager places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 726 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Featured Image with URL 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 Swell Smart Responsive Block Suite 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Showcase for Swell — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Australian Weather Widget – WillyWeather 200+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓2 10 too low 6 Swell AI Image Block — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 ASMKC Schema – Structured Data Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 YBP Schedule Rewrite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Nefudaya — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Navitto — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Comfortable Admin Page 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 US Weather Widget – WillyWeather 200+ · 3.5★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 Front Door Hero — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Relinka – Internal Linking & Orphan Page Finder 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 MoxKit Addons for Elementor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 KUROFUNE LINK — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 S Surf Conditions 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 T Twitter Swell — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Flow Payments — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 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.