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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “virtual model”

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 “virtual model”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Photo Sphere Viewer – 360° Virtual Tour, Panorama, 360 Video & AR 3D Viewer shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 131 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 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #2 3 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 AI Chatbot Free Models – Customer Support, Live Chat, Virtual Assistant 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Virtual Media Folders 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #19 ↑1 13 too low 7 SpecFit | Try & Shop – AI Virtual Try-On for WooCommerce 50+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 AI Bud – AI Content Generator, AI Chatbot, ChatGPT, Gemini, GPT-4o 2K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 PausAR – 3D and AR for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #17 ↓4 7 too low 11 SwiftXR (3D/AR/VR) Viewer 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 3D Viewer – 3D Model Viewer – Augmented Reality – Virtual Try On 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 AR for WordPress 300+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too low 14 Print Page Block – make any page printable in one click 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 EU Consumer Rights for WooCommerce – Guarantee Notice, GARAN Label, Withdrawal Button, Right to Repair, Omnibus Price & GPSR 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 TryAura: AI Virtual Try-On, Product Visualization & Product Videos for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 YITH WooCommerce Subscription 6K+ · 3.0★ (46) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 AI Content Signals 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 Photo Sphere Viewer – 360° Virtual Tour, Panorama, 360 Video & AR 3D Viewer 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 15 too high 20 Odyssey LLMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 Mirrago Virtual Tryon — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 22 IntentDeep Virtual Files – AI-Ready: Robots.txt, Security.txt, Ads.txt, LLMS.txt 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 15 too high 23 Embed Block for Matterport 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Geos AI Virtual Assistant — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.