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

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 “toast”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 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

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (298) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Inactive Logout 10K+ · 4.8★ (106) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Floating Awesome Button (Sticky Button, Popup, Toast) & 200+ Website Custom Interactive Element 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Toast Mobile Menu – Fast & Lightweight Responsive Navigation 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #22 14 too low 9 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #15 ↓3 6 too low 10 Addonify Floating Cart For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too high 11 Resizable Sidebar for the Gutenberg Block Editor 3K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too high 12 Milo Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce and Recurring Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Website Internal Link Optimiser 200+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Animator – Scroll Triggered Animations 1K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #23 ↓3 9 too low 15 Progressify – All-in-One Progressive Web App (PWA) 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Floating Cart Product For WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Default Post Author 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19 ElemCopy – Text Copy Button for Elementor 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 Animation Builder – An interface for adding scroll-triggered animations 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 Business Reviews – build trust with real customer feedback 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 WebDevOps Restaurant Menu Sync for Toast 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too high 23 CopyBlocker Pro – Content Protection 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Cycle Responsive Slider 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.