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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “to do”

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 “to do”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Sortable Dashboard To-Do List shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 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 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Dashboard To-Do List 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #6 7 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #14 ↑4 7 too low 8 WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 What Would Seth Godin Do 900+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Text To Speech TTS Accessibility 4K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too low 13 Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) wp.org #18 ↓7 5 too low 14 Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 PNG to JPG 10K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 P Posts To-Do List 50+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓3 10 too high 20 Redirect 404 to Homepage 60K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Intagrate Lite 4K+ · 4.1★ (27) wp.org #21 ↓6 22 Autocomplete Address for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #22 23 Sortable Dashboard To-Do List 80+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Cálculo do frete somente com o CEP – WC Brasil 1K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.