Plugin Pulse
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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “twig”

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 “twig”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

CustomTables – Create, Read, Update, and Delete shows at wp.org #6 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content places #7 on merit, 4.5★ from 563 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 Gantry 5 Framework 7K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #1 2 Timber 20K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #2 3 Get Use APIs – JSON Content Importer 5K+ · 4.9★ (78) wp.org #3 4 Advanced Views – Display Framework for Gutenberg & Elementor 3K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #4 5 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #5 6 Theme and plugin translation for Polylang (TTfP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (563) wp.org #23 16 too low 8 CodeColorer 1K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #8 9 Post Status Notifier Lite 700+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 CustomTables – Create, Read, Update, and Delete 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 DataPress (Dataverse Integration) 90+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Vaaky Highlighter — Syntax Highlighter, Code Blocks, Line Numbers for Gutenberg 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 HyperPay Payments 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 tporret API Data Importer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 WPBits Block Studio — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 C Custom Query Shortcode 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Wizard Blocks Manager for Gutenberg 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Sun Form Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Vollstart POS Desk — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 C Clear cache for Timber 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 AC Custom Loop Shortcode 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Monbillet Embed — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 REC Event Creator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Site Security Auditor – Plugin & File Checks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.