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← Rankings

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

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 “valid”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 900+ 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

Gallery Custom Links places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 208 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 EU/UK VAT Validation Manager for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #1 2 All 404 Redirect to Homepage 200K+ · 4.1★ (96) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Jquery Validation For Contact Form 7 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Input Mask For Elementor Form Fields 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #4 5 W WP Customer Reviews 20K+ · 4.3★ (528) wp.org #11 ↓3 6 too low 6 Country Code For Elementor Form Telephone Field 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179) wp.org #16 ↑1 9 too low 8 PublishPress Checklists: Pre-Publishing Approval Checklist – Validate Post Requirements 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #2 ↑1 7 too high 10 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #22 ↓1 12 too low 11 Double Opt-In for Contact Form 7 – Secure, GDPR-Compliant Email Verification 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 Absolute Reviews 6K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 WC – APG Free Shipping 1K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too high 14 Link Juice Keeper 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Phone Validator with Flags for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Advanced Shipping Validation for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 Byteplant Phone Validator 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 Address Validation and Autocomplete for WooCommerce | Addressfinder 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Byteplant Email Validator 90+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓3 9 too high 23 SmartFormat feed for SmartNews 1K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 eRecht24 Legal Texts 50K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.