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

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 “weekdays”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 724 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 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #1 2 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #2 3 Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) wp.org #3 4 Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (282) wp.org #4 5 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 WP Datepicker 6K+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 VikRentCar Car Rental Management System 4K+ · 4.8★ (30) wp.org #11 12 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Advanced Cron Manager – debug & control 30K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Product Delivery Date for WooCommerce – Lite 1K+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for Contact Form 7 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Custom Datepicker NMR 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #17 18 Counter Box – Add Countdowns, Timers & Dynamic Counters to WordPress 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Occupancy Plan 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 20 Nepali Date Utilities 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 DayOfWeek 300+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Controlled Draft Publisher 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Advanced Date Time Field For Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Elementor & Fluent Forms 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.