Plugin Pulse by WP Mayor Beta

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

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 “swfobject”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 7 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

JJ NextGen Unload shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 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 signals wp.org

Playlist Player for YouTube – Fast, Privacy-Friendly Playlists & Channel Feed 1K+ · 4.8★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #1 2 U Use Google Libraries 10K+ · 4.4★ (47) closure risk stale but ranked wp.org #2 3 W WP-SWFObject 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #4 1 too low 4 S swfObject Reloaded 100+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #3 1 too high 5 J JJ NextGen JQuery Slider 700+ · 4.3★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #6 1 too low 6 E Easy Flash Embed 800+ · 4.0★ (4) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 7 too low 7 J JJ SwfObject 30+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #5 2 too high 8 W WP YouTube Player 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 10 too low 9 J JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel 300+ · 4.5★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 ↓1 10 F flash-swfobject 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 1 too low 11 F Flash Gallery 200+ · 2.5★ (2) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #7 4 too high 12 S SWFObject jQuery 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 C CodeLibs 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 J JJ NextGen JQuery Cycle 200+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Y Yoplayer — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 1 too low 16 G Google Hosted AJAX Libraries 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 1 too low 17 C Content XLerator WP Public Plugin — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too low 18 J JJ NextGen Image List 100+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 8 too high 19 F Flash Feed Scroll Reader 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too low 20 I ILC FLVBox 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #22 2 too low 21 J JJ NextGen Unload 10+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 9 too high 22 A AIR Badge 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23 F Flash Media Playback 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too high 24 T Tylr Slidr 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews 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.