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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “theme mod”

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 “theme mod”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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.

F

Ranked above its merit

FameTheme Demo Importer shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30K+ 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

Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 3213 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 Customizer Export/Import 100K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #1 2 Child Theme Configurator 300K+ · 4.7★ (279) wp.org #2 3 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1012) wp.org #3 4 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (391) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WPVibe – WordPress MCP Server. Connect Claude, ChatGPT & Any AI Agent via MCP 40K+ · 5.0★ (68) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3213) wp.org #21 15 too low 7 AMP WP – Google AMP For WordPress 600+ · 4.5★ (55) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 H HootKit 8K+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Reset Customizer 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Really Simple Featured Video for Posts, Pages & WooCommerce Products 5K+ · 4.0★ (34) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Global Styles Mods – WordPress 5.9 fix 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Customify 10K+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 F FameTheme Demo Importer 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Unattached Media Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 500K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Resetify – Advanced Reset & Database Cleaner 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Oli Media Cleaner 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 AgentMod 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 DP Websolutions – Login Branding 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 PV Sort Plus for Cocoon 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Media Purge 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 SEV WebP Migrator for W3TC 10+ · 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.