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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “tips”

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 “tips”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 5 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

WPC Order Tip for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 517 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #1 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 3 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #12 ↑4 8 too low 5 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too low 6 Quotes and Tips by BestWebSoft 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 D Disable Welcome Messages and Tips 700+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #15 ↑7 6 too low 10 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #16 ↓4 4 too low 13 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too high 14 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #24 ↓7 9 too low 16 Google Authenticator 20K+ · 4.3★ (135) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Real-Time Find and Replace 70K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics 80K+ · 3.6★ (138) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 S Simple Lightbox 100K+ · 4.3★ (239) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 WPC Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 Video Popup Block – YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok Lightbox by WPZOOM 10K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Order Tip & Donations for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑2 14 too high 23 Donation or Tip For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Tip Jar WP 200+ · 3.3★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.