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

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 “targeted”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

Smart Coupons For WooCommerce Coupons shows at wp.org #12 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 133 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 250 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #1 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #2 3 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #3 4 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #4 5 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #5 6 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Classic Editor + 30K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Boxzilla – WordPress Popup Builder 20K+ · 4.8★ (133) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Smart Coupons For WooCommerce Coupons 30K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #21 22 Force Refresh 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #22 23 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Reddit for WooCommerce 90K+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.