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

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 “vars”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 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

Hide Author Archive shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500+ 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

Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 973 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #2 ↑7 1 too low 2 Theme Check 20K+ · 4.8★ (195) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 WP-DBManager 50K+ · 4.4★ (95) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #16 ↓3 11 too low 6 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 M MimeTypes Link Icons 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 GAinWP Google Analytics Integration for WP 7K+ · 4.8★ (126) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Logo Manager For Enamad – لوگوی نماد الکترونیکی 5K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12 D Display custom fields in the frontend – Post and User Profile Fields 500+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Newsletters 2K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Options for Twenty Twenty 3K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #15 ↑2 16 UTM Event Tracker and Analytics, UTM Grabber 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 Location Pack for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Device Wrapper 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑2 6 too high 19 WP Logger 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Cowboy MCP – Free MCP Server with Undo for Claude & ChatGPT 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 C3 Cloudfront Cache Controller 3K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Hide Author Archive 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.