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

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

immonex Kickstart Team shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Mongoose Page Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 64 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (79) wp.org #1 2 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #2 3 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2351) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (127) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 iControlWP 1K+ · 4.8★ (63) wp.org #6 7 Weather Effect 4K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Mongoose Page Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Live Rates for ShipStation 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 immonex Kickstart 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 12 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 WebChange Detector: Visual Regression Testing & Visual Checks After Updates 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 DayOfWeek 300+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Popcustoms – Print on demand & dropshipping, Free Personalizer 100+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Activity Logs, User Activity Tracking, Multisite Activity Log from Logtivity 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 immonex Kickstart Team 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Boring Cache Warmup Lite 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 immonex Kickstart for Elementor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Webtech Beach Reservation Manager Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Leanmerce Purchase Planner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 SEOBetter – AI SEO, GEO & LLM Citations: Generative Engine Optimization, AEO, AI Article Writer, Schema & llms.txt — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Weather Write 10+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.