Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “thesis theme plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 7 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

OpenHook shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Tailor Page Builder places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 53 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 Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) wp.org #1 2 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #2 3 SEO Data Transporter 2K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #3 4 WP Datepicker 6K+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #4 ↑4 5 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6 Schema 30K+ · 4.3★ (221) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too low 7 WP Header Images 4K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too high 8 Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Social Login 4K+ · 4.3★ (366) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 WP SpeedUp 200+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #6 ↑3 4 too high 11 MyBookTable Bookstore by Stormhill Media 1K+ · 3.8★ (41) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too high 12 Tailor Page Builder 300+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 W WP QuickLaTeX 4K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 WP Old Post Date Remover 2K+ · 4.5★ (16) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 R Remove Comment Website/URL Box 500+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 Selfish Fresh Start 20+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Picafto – One-click Lazy load images (ACF compatible) 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 FV Thoughtful Comments 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 OpenHook 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 DiFlowRin Bibliography Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 S SimpleSitemap 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 A All in One SEO Pack Importer 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 S Schema Breadcrumbs 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 T Themedy Widgets 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.