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

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 punch”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 3 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

Product Widget Slider for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.2★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Beautiful taxonomy filters places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 68 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 Dynamic Time 200+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #1 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 All in One Time Clock Lite – Tracking Employee Time Has Never Been Easier 500+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Wishlist for WooCommerce: Multiple Wishlists per Customer 2K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Beautiful taxonomy filters 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #23 ↓1 15 too low 9 Zoho SalesIQ – Live chat, chatbots, and visitor tracking 10K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Stock Ticker 2K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11 Feedify – Web Push Notifications 90+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Performance Optimisation — · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 Product Widget Slider for WooCommerce 200+ · 2.2★ (6) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Bracket Post Order 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Ndizi Project Management 10+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Golf Scores 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 MyAuthorityIQ 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 CoffeeWP Media Cleanup – Scan and Remove Unused Media and Orphan Thumbnails — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Loyalty Points and Rewards Plugin for WordPress – Pointics 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Tap Top 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Tourtify – Tour & Activity Booking — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 PaintClarity — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 StoreCashier – POS, Inventory & Business Suite for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 WunderPaint – The Dynamic Design and Automation Studio 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.