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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “text decrease”

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 “text decrease”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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

WPC Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 339 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 Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Add Plain-Text Email 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet 7K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) wp.org #12 ↓3 3 too low 10 Min Max Control – Min Max Quantity & Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #10 ↑7 11 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Options for Twenty Seventeen 8K+ · 4.8★ (57) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too low 13 PVT – Product Variation Table for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 Markup by Attribute for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 Offload, AI & Optimize with Cloudflare Images 1K+ · 4.9★ (33) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16 PRENA – Product Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #7 ↑3 9 too high 17 Swatchly – Product Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 WPC Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #6 ↑1 12 too high 19 MONEI Payments for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Better Usability for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #20 21 Simple Accessibility Button 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 CHP Ads Block Detector 800+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #22 23 Automated Stock Update Triggers for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WPC Product Options for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.