Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

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

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 “sydney”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

aThemes Starter Sites shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 2215 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable and Remove Google Fonts | GDPR & DSGVO friendly 100K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (218) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 S Sydney Toolbox 50K+ · 2.3★ (15) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 aThemes Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Sliders, Galleries & Form Styler 7K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 5 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (86) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 MultiStep Checkout for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Shift8 CDN 500+ · 4.4★ (40) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 SMNTCS Custom Logo Link 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 800+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 iNext Woo Pincode Checker 600+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 WP GoToWebinar 600+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Accessibility Assistant – EAA ADA WCAG AODA 100+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Workshop Booking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Shortcodes – Advanced Shortcode Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Product Video Gallery for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Event – Add to Calendar 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Extend Product Options for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 FYP Weather — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 RelayPay Checkout 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Author Bio On Hover – Author Box 40+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 aThemes Starter Sites 40K+ · 2.0★ (2) wp.org #3 19 too high 23 aThemes Blocks 6K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Envo's Templates & Widgets for Elementor and WooCommerce 10K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #8 16 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.