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

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 “tribe”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

The Tribal Plugin shows at wp.org #1 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 700+ 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 Events Calendar places #6 on merit, 4.2★ from 2461 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 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Registrations for the Events Calendar – Event Registration Plugin 7K+ · 5.0★ (103) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 s2Member – Excellent for All Kinds of Memberships, Content Restriction Paywalls & Member Access Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.1★ (234) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Tangible: Loops & Logic 2K+ · 4.9★ (39) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #18 ↓1 12 too low 7 Caddy – WooCommerce Side Cart & Free Shipping Bar 3K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Event Calendar Newsletter 600+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 The Tribal Plugin 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 Triberr 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 Advanced Post Manager 4K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Live Chat by User.com 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Add infos to The Events Calendar 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Display Event Location for The Events Calendar 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 S SOWPROG import The Events Calendar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Easy Custom Event Tickets 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑3 4 too high 17 Gorilla Dash Integration — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 ChamaWP – Monetize With Donations, Memberships, Crowdfunding, Commissions & Restricted Content 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Evertongue — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20 Guru ChatBot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 S Simple Presenter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Events in Gozo 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Disable Featured Image for The Events Calendar 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 T The Events Calendar User CSS 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.