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

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 “wai”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Accessibility Helper (WAH) 10K+ · 4.7★ (57) wp.org #1 2 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #2 3 Pressidium Cookie Consent 10K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 AccessibleWP – Accessibility Toolbar 20K+ · 4.5★ (47) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 C Custom Alt Text for Elementor Images 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Accessibility 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 PixelVault – Media Library Folders, Document Library & File Manager 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Accordion FAQ – FAQ Schema, Block & Shortcode with Live Search 90+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Wai Metrics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 BibleUp 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Magic Featured Image Generator (AI Generated) 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Simple WP Slider 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 CodingFreaks Cookiemanager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Prime Testimonial Carousel 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 Accessibility spring 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 CrispyCohd Advanced Accordion Block — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 Allergen Exclusion Filter for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 BridgeHub Design Kit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Guardrail Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 BlockCrate — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 B Bezugssysteme ICS Feed — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Maqsy: FAQ Manager and AI Chat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Coywolf SEO — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 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.