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

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 “symfony”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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.

P

Ranked above its merit

PE Category Filter shows at wp.org #3 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ 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

Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 50 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 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #1 2 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #12 10 too low 3 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #18 ↑1 15 too low 4 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #21 ↑3 17 too low 5 Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181) wp.org #19 ↓1 14 too low 6 Jooosi Icon – Modern SVG icon library for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 WebEquipe PDF Search 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 8 Fleet Agent Site Manager – Securely Connects Your Sites to a WPMgr Dashboard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 HyperPay Payments 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Joinotify – WhatsApp Notifications & Marketing Automation 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 P PE Category Filter 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 The Word Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Theme SCSS Compiler 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Pagora AI | AI Page Builder & Landing Page Generator 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Ajaxy Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 ncdLabs Assure – Security & Compliance Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 YAML Custom Fields — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 KBFox — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 MentionReady — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Virtua Brasil – Diário Oficial — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 SHIFT64 Phone Validation for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 NetterTech Events — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 WXP Opening Times — · 0.0★ (0) 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.