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

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 “twentytwenty”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

WPMozo Blocks and Addons shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 80+ 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

Page scroll to id places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 225 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF 30K+ · 4.9★ (106) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Remove "Powered by WordPress" 20K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #2 3 Options for Twenty Twenty 3K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #3 4 Really Simple Featured Video for Posts, Pages & WooCommerce Products 5K+ · 4.0★ (34) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Before + After Images for Divi 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 TwentyTwenty Compare 80+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Advanced WordPress Backgrounds 30K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #21 ↑3 13 too low 9 Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) wp.org #24 ↓1 14 too low 11 Catch Infinite Scroll 10K+ · 4.3★ (21) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Before After Slider for WooCommerce – eBEAF 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 13 WP Retro Version Manager – Retro Themes and Plugins 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 MT Addons for Elementor 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Before After Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Billy 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 WPMozo Blocks and Addons 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Multi Days Events and Multi Events in One Day Calendar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Really Simple Featured Audio – Sell Music, Samples & Audio Products with WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20 Expenses Book Plugin for WordPress — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Elvez Hide Entry Header 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Siddik Layout Widgets for Elementor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 REST API Extender 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #19 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.