Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “town”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 7 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

Checkout & Store Toolkit for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 800+ 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

Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events places #5 on merit, 4.5★ from 292 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 RY City Select for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Departamentos y Ciudades de Colombia para Woocommerce 6K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 PI Advanced Flat rate / Conditional shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Location Pack for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Address Autocomplete Anything – Google Address Autocomplete for Any Form 900+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #10 11 W WC City Select 2K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 WowShipping – Table Rate & Weight Based Shipping 700+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Bulk Page Duplicator 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Recruitly 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓8 8 too low 16 UK Address Postcode Validation 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 List Locations BMLT 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Checkout & Store Toolkit for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 BG Couriers for WooCommerce 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Newspack Newsletters 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 WS40 – Live Weather 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Townsmith Local Pages Engine – Service Area & Location Page Generator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 REES – Real Estate for Woo 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Events Calendar by FooEvents 4K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #22 2 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.