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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user bookmark”

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 “user bookmark”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

User Post Collections shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20+ 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

Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 802 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #1 2 WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 CBX Bookmark & Favorite 1K+ · 4.6★ (49) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #11 ↓6 7 too low 5 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #6 7 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #12 ↓4 4 too low 9 Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Favorites 10K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #14 ↓4 4 too low 11 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #18 ↓3 7 too low 12 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #10 ↑6 3 too high 14 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 10 too high 16 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 WP Crowdfunding 2K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Embed Google Photos album 3K+ · 4.4★ (15) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too high 19 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too high 20 User Post Collections 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34) wp.org #15 ↓3 6 too high 22 NETSENSAI Shield 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 Enable Mastodon Apps 500+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 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.