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

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 “ux”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

UX Flat shows at wp.org #5 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #3 ↑5 1 too low 3 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too low 7 ShopLentor – All-in-One WooCommerce Growth & Store Enhancement Plugin 80K+ · 4.5★ (278) wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too low 8 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too high 9 WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Classic Editor + 30K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #7 ↑7 3 too high 11 Perfect Brands for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.7★ (414) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 UX Flat 2K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #5 ↓1 7 too high 13 Glossary 2K+ · 4.7★ (84) wp.org #13 ↓3 14 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #15 16 WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Twenty20 Image Before-After 20K+ · 4.0★ (54) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 Was This Helpful? 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 WPB Category Slider for WooCommerce – Responsive Product Category Carousel & Enhanced UX 700+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 AM LottiePlayer 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 UXsniff AI-powered Heatmaps and Session Recordings 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓3 24 Editor Cleanup For Flatsome: FDP add-on to clean up the Flatsome UX Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.