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

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 “uk”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

UK Address Postcode Validation shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 3026 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 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #1 2 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 EU/UK VAT Validation Manager for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #5 6 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too low 9 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #9 10 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #23 ↓2 11 too low 13 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14 Datafeedr WooCommerce Importer 4K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Reveal IDs 40K+ · 5.0★ (61) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 8K+ · 5.0★ (115) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 too low 17 Jquery Validation For Contact Form 7 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 UK Address Postcode Validation 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 European VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 Disable Emails 30K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Interactive UK Map 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Tides Today UK and Ireland tide times 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 Rapid Car Check 200+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too high 24 U UK Portfolio 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 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.