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

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 control”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

O

Ranked above its merit

One Time Login shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Groups – Memberships and Access Control places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 382 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #1 2 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Reading Time WP 20K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Real-Time Find and Replace 70K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Min Max Control – Min Max Quantity & Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too high 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Daily Prayer Time 1K+ · 4.9★ (96) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 U Update Control 4K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 WP Time Slots Booking Form 1K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too high 16 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Module Control for Jetpack 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Dynamic Front-End Heartbeat Control 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Widget Visibility Control 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↑7 4 too high 22 O One Time Login 40K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 14 too high 23 Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 RSS Control 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.