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

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

BlueSnap Payment Gateway for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Redis Object Cache places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 179 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 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #1 2 Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #2 3 Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions 60K+ · 4.7★ (181) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WPTerm 4K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WP-ServerInfo 10K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 U Urvanov Syntax Highlighter 3K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #23 ↓2 15 too low 9 Publish kintone data 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 10 Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Shortcode for MobilizeAmerica API 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 atec Hosting Check 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Smart Ad Engine with Report 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Jabali Cache 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Sorank 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 Admin Login Guard & Branding 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 DigitalDot Caché Manager for Redis — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too low 19 User Teams — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 S Stable Shortlinks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 FlynCache Purge — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 pierre314r Local Taxonomy Indexer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Site Add-on Watchdog 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 BlueSnap Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 90+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.