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

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 “usermeta”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Compromise Scanner for wp2shell shows at wp.org #6 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 3K+ 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

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #3 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 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 BP Profile Search 5K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 U Use Administrator Password 800+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #20 ↑3 17 too low 4 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #11 ↑3 7 too low 5 Logged In As 200+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 PiWeb Export Customers Users & Guest customer to CSV for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Options View 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↓1 5 too high 8 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 Index WP Users For Speed 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓5 2 too high 10 Unagi 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 SweepPress: Website Cleanup and Optimization 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too high 12 S SyncFields 40+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 too high 14 kakao-tam 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Templ Optimizer 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑3 5 too high 16 NHR Database Cleaner & Optimizer – Revisions, Transients, Autoload & Options Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 17 All Users Filter 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18 WP Table Pixie 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 U User Profile Shortcode Display 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 User List Exporter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 User Teams — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 Wuclean → Database Cleaner for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24 Delete Usermetas 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.