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

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 “trunk”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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

Parse.ly shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ 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

BuddyPress places #7 on merit, 4.1★ from 375 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #1 2 WordPress Beta Tester 2K+ · 4.0★ (47) wp.org #2 3 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Waymark 900+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Counting Number Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #20 ↓2 13 too low 8 Responsive Navigation Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too high 9 Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Block Enhancements – Extended styling for the Block Editor 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Content Blocks Builder – Create blocks, repeater blocks with carousel, grid, popup layouts 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14 Peak Publisher 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 TuriTop Booking System 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Media Rename — OrbitStem 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 RingQ Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 18 Paygenius Hosted Payment Gateway 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too low 19 S Shopbox 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 Custonis – Security Exposure Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Parse.ly 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 Push MD – Git Sync for WordPress Content — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Sky Changelog Notifier 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 HRTSoftX – Conditional Elements — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 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.