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

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 “unattached”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Smart Bulk Delete & Content Cleaner for WordPress shows at wp.org #5 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 100+ 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

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 8708 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #14 ↑1 12 too low 3 Unattached Media Manager 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Media Size and Filter 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 5 Cleanup Orphan Images 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Post Export Import with Media 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Logo or Image Replace by mycore.global 300+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 SiteEase Bulk Delete Manager 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Smart Bulk Delete & Content Cleaner for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Attach Unattached Images — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Janitorix Media Audit — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 NA Image ALT Helper 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Darkstar Keyword Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Zevvo File Upload for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Orphanix Media Cleanup 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 SmartProductSEO Media Library Cleanup — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Freshet Unused Media 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓3 18 ScanUpload — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 KDA Custom Upload Structure — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Advanced Media Library Filters — Enhanced Media Management, SEO & Bulk Organization — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 LogicalFrame SiteOps — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 S Sajib Media Cleanup & Storage Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 RasterRake Image Size Cleaner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Hami SEO — · 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.