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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “weather data”

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 “weather data”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 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

Weather Widget & Forecast by Meteoprog shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 155 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #1 2 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #5 ↓3 3 too low 3 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Weather Atlas Widget 8K+ · 4.1★ (41) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Under The Weather 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 Weather Widget Pro 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7 wp-forecast 4K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #7 8 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #17 ↓2 9 too low 9 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Church Content – Sermons, Events and More 3K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11 HT Mega Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets & Template Builder 60K+ · 4.1★ (66) wp.org #19 ↑2 8 too low 12 Wetterwarner 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 Event Post 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #22 ↑2 9 too low 14 Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓3 15 Weather Forecast Widget 200+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 WFY24 Weather Widget 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Visual Crossing Weather Forecast – Real-Time Weather & Forecast Widget 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 WS40 – Live Weather 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 Weather Write 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 Tides Today Tides and Weather 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Live Data Display 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too high 22 TheAVCoach Weather Station for WeatherLink 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Weather Widget & Forecast by Meteoprog 60+ · 2.7★ (3) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 WeatherBot Weather Widget 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.