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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “verify id”

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 “verify id”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 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 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

Cloudi7 ID Card Generator shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 254 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too low 5 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too low 6 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #16 ↑4 9 too low 8 Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.8★ (254) wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9 WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #20 ↑2 11 too low 10 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 Identity Verification for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Permalinks with ID for bbPress 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #3 ↑1 9 too high 13 Age Verification for your checkout page. Verify your customer’s identity 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 VerifyPass Community ID 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 Ads.txt & App-ads.txt Manager for WordPress 2K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 All-in-One Microsoft 365 & Entra ID / Azure AD SSO Login 600+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 CPS | Age Verification 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 Cloudi7 ID Card Generator 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Didit Verify 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Edutain Certificate Validator – Certificate Verification, QR Code & Digital Credentials 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓5 1 too high 24 Add LinkedIn Insight Tag for LinkedIn Ads 4K+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.