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

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 “unicode”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

Local Twemoji shows at wp.org #13 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 60+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 mPDF add-on for RTL and Unicode Support 4K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #3 4 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #6 ↑4 2 too low 5 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #5 6 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 Remove Uppercase Accents 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #7 8 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Custom Add to Cart labels for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Init Live Search – AI-Powered, Related Posts, Slash Commands 90+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 translit it! 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Word Replace 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too high 13 eBook Crafter – Convert Posts to PDF eBooks, Ready to Print 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 LightMoving UTF8MB4 Converter 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓4 4 too low 15 MarkuClean – AI Text Cleaner & Unicode Fixer 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16 SitePublisher AI 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Custom Currency Sign 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓6 7 too low 18 Search URL Beautifier 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too high 19 Local Twemoji 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too high 20 Catalog PDF Export for WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 TypeAnySymbol – Unicode Symbol Picker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓4 2 too high 22 Init Content Protector – Anti-Copy, Anti-Scrape, Encrypt-All 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too high 23 SMS Gateway Center – Bulk SMS Sender 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24 Autobute – Auto Image Alt Text, Title & Caption for Image SEO 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓3 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.