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

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 “tldr”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Display Event Location for The Events Calendar shows at wp.org #16 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 90+ 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

jQuery Manager for WordPress places #2 on merit, 5.0★ from 113 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ajaxify Comments – Ajax and Lazy Loading Comments 3K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #1 2 jQuery Manager for WordPress 7K+ · 5.0★ (113) wp.org #17 15 too low 3 Synced Pattern Popups 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 4 Goal Tracker – Custom Event Tracking for GA4 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 SummarAIze 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Sumtics – AI Summarizer & TL;DR Generator 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Pointwise Summary – AI-Powered TLDR, AI Summarize & Social Sharing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 QC SEO Help for llms.txt, AI Analytics, AI Content Writer, FAQ Generator, Subtitle to Article 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 AI Post Summarizer Lite for WordPress — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Bright Link Previews 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 AltoSum – AI Post Summary, TL;DR & Key Takeaways — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 TLDR 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 BriefWing – TL;DR AI Summary & Recommended Source — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Need to Know Box — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Social Feed Sync & Link to Post — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 MTM AI Share Button and Link Generator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Login alert by e-mail — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 WP Goal Tracker – Goal Tracking for Plausible Analytics 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 T TL;DR — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Display Event Location for The Events Calendar 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 T TL;DR – Smart Reading Timer — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Meeple Like Us Boardgamegeek Plugin 50+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 BP Block Users 30+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.