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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “the old republic”

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 “the old republic”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

StoreLinkr: European Marketplace Integrator & Multichannel Sync shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10+ 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

Pronamic Pay places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 84 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #1 2 Kybernaut IČO DIČ 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #2 3 Event Organiser 20K+ · 4.6★ (140) wp.org #3 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Datafeedr WooCommerce Importer 4K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #5 6 Printus – Automatic Cloud Order Printing for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Return Refund and Exchange For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 U Urvanov Syntax Highlighter 3K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Pronamic Pay 2K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #19 ↓1 10 too low 10 Exchange Rates 800+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce – Trackora 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Keskintech Marketplaces — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Klarna for WooCommerce 20K+ · 2.3★ (20) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 eDrive Site — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Cartnorm Omnibus Lowest Price — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 HAfiscal for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Velora — Lead & Ad Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 StoreLinkr: European Marketplace Integrator & Multichannel Sync 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Invum POS Entegratör – Sanal POS ve Taksitli Ödeme — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Onlinefotka Parcel Shipping with GLS for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Zen Cortext – Your AI SDR for inbound — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 O OotiniMaps Tooltips — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 G Game Dev Quotes 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 S SWTOR Server Status 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.