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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “voting system”

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 “voting system”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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.

Ranked above its merit

Forumax – AI Powered Advanced Community Forum Plugin shows at wp.org #7 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 769 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ePoll – Contest Poll Survey & Voting 1K+ · 3.9★ (24) wp.org #1 2 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 GD Rating System 1K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls 6K+ · 4.4★ (91) wp.org #6 7 Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Democracy Poll 6K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #8 9 WP Coupons and Deals – WordPress Coupon Plugin 1K+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 weDocs: AI Powered Knowledge Base, Docs, Documentation, Wiki & AI Chatbot 5K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Forumax – AI Powered Advanced Community Forum Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 EazyDocs – AI Powered Knowledge Base, Wiki, Documentation & FAQ Builder 2K+ · 4.7★ (100) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Stars Rating 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 topicPolls Pro for bbPress 200+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Support Helpdesk Ticket System Lite 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Polls CP 400+ · 2.6★ (5) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Init Review System – Reactions, Multi-Criteria, Guest-Friendly 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 WM Voting – Simple Polls & Surveys 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Simple Voting System Formally Fc Feedback — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Wbcom Designs – Birthday Widget for BuddyPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 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.