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

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 “tune”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

AI Flash Tune – Abandoned Cart Recovery & Funnel Analytics for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ 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

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WPSSO Tune WP Image Editors 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #20 ↓3 11 too low 10 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #23 ↓4 13 too low 11 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #21 ↑2 8 too low 14 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #12 ↑10 3 too high 16 H HootKit 8K+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Attributes for Blocks 4K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 FV Simpler SEO 2K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Mobile Detect 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too high 21 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 AI Flash Tune – Abandoned Cart Recovery & Funnel Analytics for WooCommerce 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 13 too high 23 Secret Image Slide and Tune 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓5 4 too high 24 Tune Library 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 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.