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

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 shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

Weather Widget & Forecast by Meteoprog shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 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

WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 594 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. 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 Weather Atlas Widget 8K+ · 4.1★ (41) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Weather Widget Pro 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Ventus – Weather Map Widget & Shortcode 3K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #16 ↓2 11 too low 6 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #22 ↑1 15 too low 8 Under The Weather 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 wp-forecast 4K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Event Post 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Profile Box Shortcode And Widget 1K+ · 3.7★ (7) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Wetterwarner 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Social Media Icon Widget – Social Profile Links with Gutenberg Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 m1.MiniWeather 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑2 15 Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 WFY24 Weather Widget 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Weather Forecast Widget 200+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Weather Write 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Visual Crossing Weather Forecast – Real-Time Weather & Forecast Widget 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑2 20 WS40 – Live Weather 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Weather Widget & Forecast by Meteoprog 60+ · 2.7★ (3) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Tides Today Tides and Weather 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 TheAVCoach Weather Station for WeatherLink 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Free Weather 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.