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← Rankings

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

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 “unavailable”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 5 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

WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 528 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 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #1 2 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #2 3 Slim Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 5.0★ (63) wp.org #3 4 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 WP Maintenance 60K+ · 4.7★ (98) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #5 ↑13 1 too high 7 Better Font Awesome 60K+ · 4.5★ (88) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #20 ↓7 10 too low 11 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Hestia Nginx Cache 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #13 ↑6 1 too high 15 Maintenance Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Maintenance Mode 8K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too low 17 WPC Name Your Price for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #18 19 ACF Options For Polylang 20K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Call for Price for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.9★ (27) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 Rename wp-admin login 9K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22 Payment Methods by Product & Country for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (18) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 15 too high 24 YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.1★ (16) wp.org #22 ↓1 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.