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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “today date”

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 “today date”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Date Time Picker for WPForms shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #3 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #1 2 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #18 15 too low 4 Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (282) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too low 5 Nepali Date Converter 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 WP Hebrew Date 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #20 ↓1 13 too low 8 Date Today Nepali 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 PI Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #23 ↓2 13 too low 11 Availability Datepicker – Booking Calendar for Contact Form 7 – Input WP 10K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #19 ↓2 8 too low 12 Nepali Date Utilities 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Estimated delivery date per product for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (83) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 Years Ago Today 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Date Time Picker for Contact Form 7 20K+ · 3.3★ (21) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Date Picker For Contact Form 7 4K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 Product Delivery Date for WooCommerce – Lite 1K+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 Date Time Picker for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 12 too high 21 Restrict Dates Add-On for Gravity Forms 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Today-Yesterday Dates 90+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 23 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 Advanced Date Time Field For Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Elementor & Fluent Forms 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.