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

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 metadata”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

View User Metadata shows at wp.org #1 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ 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

Admin Columns places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 1652 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #5 ↑3 4 too low 2 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #18 ↓1 13 too low 6 Hide/Remove Metadata 20K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #9 ↑3 2 too low 8 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 WP User Avatars 20K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 JSM Show User Metadata 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↓1 10 too high 13 View User Metadata 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 ↑1 12 too high 14 JSM Show Post Metadata 10K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 WP Remote Users Sync 6K+ · 4.9★ (73) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 WPSSO Schema Product Metadata for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 WP User Merger 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↑2 18 C Custom Metadata Manager 700+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 WP User Profiles 200+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Metadata Viewer 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 WP User Groups 600+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 JSM Show Order Metadata for WooCommerce HPOS 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Display Post Metadata 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Strip Image Metadata 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.