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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “word processor”

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 “word processor”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Consistency – Typography Corrector for Gutenberg shows at wp.org #4 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 107 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 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #2 3 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter 10K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too low 6 SEO Media Manager 5K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Awesome Guten Text – 8 Powerful Blocks for Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #17 ↑1 9 too low 9 Foliopress WYSIWYG 200+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Consistency – Typography Corrector for Gutenberg 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Montonio for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Flipa PDF Flipbook – PDF Viewer and Page Flip Book 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Kortech Document Editor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Meerkat Markdown for AI Visibility 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 16 R Rocket Media Library Mime Type 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 Fast Events 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 ePayVista Payments: High-Risk Crypto and Card Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓3 5 too high 20 Paul Bunyan 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 RobArt Text Collector 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 Donor Merchant – Donation Form with Recurring Donations, Stripe and PayPal 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Automatic Multilingual AI Translation by Autoglot 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 BridgerPay Woocommerce 30+ · 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.