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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “w3c”

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 “w3c”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

rtCarousel – Flexible Carousel & Slider Block for Images, Videos, Testimonials & More shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ 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.

Buried gem

Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 91 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 W WP Customer Reviews 20K+ · 4.3★ (528) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Type Attribute Warnings Removal 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 WP Swiper 5K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) 100K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #6 ↑2 7 Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 WP-WebAuthn 2K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 GS Pinterest Portfolio – Pins Grid, Masonry, User Profile, Popup & Board Widgets 1K+ · 4.8★ (47) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 C Custom Alt Text for Elementor Images 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓3 4 too high 12 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓7 13 Ray Enterprise Translation 7K+ · 2.6★ (48) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 TicketMachine Event Manager & Calendar 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 AI Content Signals 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 Membership For WooCommerce 800+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 Superb Social Media Share Buttons and Follow Buttons 6K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 GS WooCommerce Product Slider, Product Carousel, Grid, Ticker, List & Masonry 300+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 Coupon & Discount Code Reveal Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21 Superb Table (SEO Optimized Tables With Schema) 2K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 rtCarousel – Flexible Carousel & Slider Block for Images, Videos, Testimonials & More 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 13 too high 23 Superb Recent Posts With Thumbnail Images 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 AdSimple Cookie Consent Banner 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.