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

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 “trips”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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

WP Travel Gutenberg Blocks shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 449 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 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #1 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 ↑3 1 too low 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Travel – Ultimate Travel Booking System, Tour Management Engine 3K+ · 4.7★ (164) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #8 9 Yatra – Travel Booking & Tour Operator Software 600+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #16 ↑3 6 too low 11 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #18 ↓3 7 too low 12 E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 WP TripAdvisor Review Slider 8K+ · 4.8★ (135) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 WP Tripadvisor Review Widgets 20K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #15 ↑2 16 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #21 ↓5 5 too low 17 Tripzzy – Travel Engine System 100+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 TraveledMap Trip itinerary: Embedded map 80+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Currency Converter Calculator 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 WP Travel Gutenberg Blocks 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↓1 15 too high 21 WP Travel Engine – Elementor Widgets | Create Travel Booking Website Using WordPress and Elementor 10K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Travel Booking Toolkit 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Topper Pack 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 WT Widgets for Elementor 300+ · 1.5★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.