wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “time based”

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 “time based”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Time-based Revision Cleanup shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 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 signals wp.org

Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #1 2

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #9 5 too low 5

Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Reading Time WP 20K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #4 2 too high 7

WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #5 2 too high 8

Backup and Staging by WP Time Capsule 10K+ · 4.0★ (128) wp.org #8 9

Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12

EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13

BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 I IP Based Login 600+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #11 3 too high 15

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too low 16

WP Time Slots Booking Form 1K+ · 5.0★ (41) not PHP-current wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17

Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (282) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 6 too low 18

Dynamic Time 200+ · 4.7★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19

Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #12 7 too high 20

Payment Gateway Based Fees and Discounts for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (58) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 1 too high 21

Time-based Revision Cleanup 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #6 15 too high 22

Order Delivery Date And Time 1K+ · 4.6★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23

Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

Reading Time 200+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews 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.