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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “symbol shortcode”

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 “symbol shortcode”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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

EMI Calculator shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 600+ 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

YayCurrency – WooCommerce Multi-Currency Switcher places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 114 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #4 ↑4 1 too low 4 Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Currency Switcher for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #6 7 Crypto Converter ⚡ Widget 1K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 Donation Thermometer 2K+ · 4.4★ (12) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Accept Stripe Payments 20K+ · 4.1★ (114) wp.org #14 ↓7 5 too low 10 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 YayCurrency – WooCommerce Multi-Currency Switcher 7K+ · 4.8★ (114) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Stock Ticker 2K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 Chart Block – Visualize Data with Bar, Line, Pie Charts 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too high 14 Minimum Order Amount for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #16 ↑3 2 too low 15 Responsive Mortgage Calculator 7K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #23 ↓7 8 too low 16 Simple Mortgage Calculator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 SIP Reviews Shortcode for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #20 ↓7 3 too low 18 Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Stock Market Ticker 2K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too high 20 Cryptocurrency Price Widget 200+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Stock Market Overview 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑2 11 too high 22 Stockdio Historical Chart 800+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 MetalpriceAPI 500+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 EMI Calculator 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 12 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.