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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “typing practice”

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 “typing practice”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Sprinix Typing Test shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10+ 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

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 399 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #1 2 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 5 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too low 6 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #6 ↑3 7 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 JetFormBuilder — Dynamic Blocks Form Builder 80K+ · 4.2★ (72) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.1★ (84) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 SQL Chart Builder 500+ · 3.9★ (22) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Sprinix Typing Test 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 PeachPay — Payments & Express Checkout for WooCommerce (supports Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, NMI) 300+ · 4.2★ (33) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 17 Footnotes & Content 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 AI Search for WooCommerce — Semantic & Live Search 90+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 20 RavyCode Typing Speed Test 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓2 12 too high 21 Database Reset Pro – Clean & Reset WordPress Database 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Content Randomizer – Rotate Any Block 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 AutoComplete Address Checkout For WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 BaseCloud Shield 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.