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

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 “winter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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

Falling Things shows at wp.org #4 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ 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 #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 594 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Weather Effect 4K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #1 2 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #2 3 BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) wp.org #3 4 WP Snow Effect 1K+ · 4.9★ (390) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (248) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 Rs Christmas Trees – Holiday Decorations, Christmas Garlands & Falling Snow Effect 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Advanced coupon for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #20 ↓2 12 too low 9 AI Search for WooCommerce — Semantic & Live Search 80+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Better Badge – Custom Product Badges for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too low 11 S Snow Fall 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 Christmas Snow 3D – Snowfalling, Snowflake Effect and Christmas mood 100+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Falling Things 200+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 TyresAddict – Tyre Product Filter for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too high 15 AI Search for WooCommerce – Semantic Search 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Random Image Block for Block Editor 100+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 W Winter Snow Effect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 WpXmas Snow 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Business Hours & Holiday Schedule Manager 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Festival Snow Effect 60+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 Super SEO Content Cloner 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 WPC Smart Product Collections for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 Seasonal Effects & Notice Bar (formerly Halloween Animations) 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 RsCards Maker – Greeting Cards, E-Cards, Christmas Cards & Holiday Wishes 10+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 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.