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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “timezone widget”

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 “timezone widget”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Wbcom Designs – Birthday Widget for BuddyPress shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 400+ 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

پارسی دیت – Parsi Date places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 130 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 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Simple Google Calendar Outlook Events Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #7 ↑8 4 too low 4 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #6 ↑7 2 too low 5 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Widget Visibility Control 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 8K+ · 4.3★ (37) wp.org #13 ↓4 14 Online Active Users 2K+ · 4.7★ (51) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 تقویم فارسی – Persian Calendar 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 18 XT Event Widget for Social Events 800+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Order List Table Elementor Widget for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 iCalendrier 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Wbcom Designs – Birthday Widget for BuddyPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 Timezone Conversion Widget 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23 Verse of the Day Widget for WP 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 Celestial Lunar Phase Widget 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑3 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.