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

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

Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ 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

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 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 signals wp.org

Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #5 3 too low 3

Hide Trackbacks 300+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #1 2 too high 4

Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #4 5

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #6 1 too high 8

Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions 60K+ · 4.7★ (181) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #18 8 too low 11

Kama SpamBlock 4K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #7 4 too high 12

Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too low 13

WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #13 14

No Page Comment 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #16 1 too low 16

WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 7 too high 18

Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #3 15 too high 19

Better Search – Relevant search results for WordPress 5K+ · 4.4★ (61) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21

No-Bot Registration 2K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22

Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23

WebberZone Snippetz – Header, Body and Footer manager 2K+ · 4.8★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24

Remove XML-RPC Methods 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 13 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.