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

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 “vegetables”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 17. 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Buried gem

Media Library Assistant places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 202 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 RestroPress – Online Food Ordering System 1K+ · 4.4★ (102) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Min Max Step Quantity Limits Manager for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Unit Price for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Nutrition Info for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Weight Products for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 B2B Quantity Manager for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 T TM Replace Howdy 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Parentless Categories 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Peer Categories 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Nora AI Publisher: AI Blog Writer & Auto Publishing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 H Hide Posts by Category — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 W WP-Seedbank 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 4 404 error – carrot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 CarrotPress — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓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.