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

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 replacement”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

The Word Widget shows at wp.org #2 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ 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.

Buried gem

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 491 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 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Say What? 40K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too low 7 wp-Typography 10K+ · 4.6★ (71) wp.org #7 8 Orphans 50K+ · 5.0★ (164) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Word Replace 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) wp.org #17 ↓6 7 too low 11 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #22 ↓3 11 too low 12 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Remove Uppercase Accents 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Better Search – Relevant search results for WordPress 5K+ · 4.4★ (61) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 CM Search And Replace – Optimize content edits with a powerful search and replace tool 2K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #9 ↓2 8 too high 18 Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 The Word Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 17 too high 20 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Terms descriptions 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Content Censor 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 Text Replace – Find and Replace WordPress Strings 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 DevDome Affiliate Manager: Amazon Affiliate Plugin for Amazon Associates 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.