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

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 replace”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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.

Ranked above its merit

Easy Search Replace – Find & Replace Text/HTML/URLs, Remove Footer Credit shows at wp.org #7 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #6 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #1 2 Better Search Replace 1M+ · 4.3★ (546) wp.org #2 3 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Real-Time Find and Replace 70K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Text To Speech TTS Accessibility 4K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #23 17 too low 7 Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Text Replace – Find and Replace WordPress Strings 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Search & Replace Everything by WPCode – Find and Replace Media, Text, Links, and More 20K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Auto Alt Text 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 CM Search And Replace – Optimize content edits with a powerful search and replace tool 2K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 AI Alt Text Generator 2K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too low 13 JVM Rich Text Icons 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Easy Search Replace – Find & Replace Text/HTML/URLs, Remove Footer Credit 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Replace Contents 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Marquee Running Text 5K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Search & Replace Text in Blocks 100+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Text to Speech – TTSWP 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Replace Broken Images 1K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 Word Replace 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too high 21 U URL Replace 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 22 Search and Replace for Block Editor 500+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Sigma Search & Replace 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too high 24 neo Replace – Simple replacement using drag & drop 80+ · 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.