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← Rankings

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

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

Ranked above its merit

CampTix KDCpay Payments shows at wp.org #14 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its — 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Icon Element – Icon Pack for Elementor Page Builder (6718 icons) 40K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #1 2 Protected Video 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #10 8 too low 3 Sokket – MCP Server: Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor & Any AI Agent to WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 T Tsjippy Default Pictures — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 5 CoCart – Cart API Enhanced 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 T Tsjippy Daily Message — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Markdown with Block Editor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 CoCart CORS Support 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 CoCart – Rate Limiting 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Sitevorx — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 Modules Insight 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 Money Space 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 BrevWoo 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 Image Map Connect – Display Posts as Image Hotspots 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 PHP Code Keeper for Gravity Forms 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Swiss Floorball API — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 A.N.R.GHG Publishing Toolkit 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 CampTix KDCpay Payments — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 cm4all-wp-impex 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Folded Pages 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20

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.