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

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 “webmention”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Shortnotes shows at wp.org #9 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ 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 Webmention 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #1 2 IndieWeb 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 3 Syndication Links 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 4 WP Comment Policy Checkbox 5K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Post Kinds 100+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #4 ↑5 1 too high 6 Avatar Privacy 1K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #18 ↓2 12 too low 7 Honeypot Anti-Spam 10K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #13 ↓3 6 too low 8 I IndieBlocks 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 IndieAuth 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓3 6 too low 10 Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11 MF2 Feeds 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 kobak social: share posts to Mastodon and Bluesky — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Soapbox for Blygger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Stubli — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Shortnotes 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓2 6 too high 16 Post Kinds for IndieWeb in Block Themes 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 I IndieWeb Press This 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 reCAPTCHA V3 for Jetpack 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Post Formats for Block Themes — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 R Refback 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 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.