Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “toe”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 6 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

BOXO Return shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10+ 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

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #2 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wp Tic-Tac-Toe 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #19 17 too low 3 Daisycon prijsvergelijkers 400+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #3 4 Ace Tic Tac Toe 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 AdRoll for WooCommerce Stores 500+ · 2.5★ (10) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Billink – Achteraf Betalen 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 8 StoreContrl Woocommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 S Slotbaas – Security, Scanner & Firewall 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑2 10 Huurkalender WP 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 Parcel Pro 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Embed Browser Games by Games I Know — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 13 Qooqie Leads — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 ReserveerEenvoudig 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 CO2Track — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Installatiemanager Opnameformulier — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 BOXO Return 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Yappr Chat Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Shops United 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Weer Widget NL — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Qooqie Call Tracking — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Renesse Aan Zee — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 TraumaRadar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 H Horoscopen (NL) – Astro Media 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 6 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.