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

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 “wordpres”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

LMSACE Connect – WooCommerce Moodle™ LMS Integration shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 326 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Controls for Contact Form 7 (Redirects, Analytics & Tracking) 10K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #2 3 Wonder PDF Embed 8K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #3 4 Import Eventbrite Events 3K+ · 4.5★ (52) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 WPS Notice Center 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 6 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #24 18 too low 7 Form to Chat App ⚡️ 2K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 A Acronyms 2 100+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 Meks Audio Player 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 WSW – Shopify WooCommerce / WordPress Integration and Migration 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 S Simple Menu Order Column 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Disable Full Site Editing 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 International Phone Number Format 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 D DNS Manager for Cloudflare 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 M Main Entrance 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Highlight Sitewide Notice, Text, Button Menu 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 WP Recent Posts 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 LMSACE Connect – WooCommerce Moodle™ LMS Integration 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 User Sync For Klaviyo 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 DixBase Payments for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 C Change SVG Colors — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WP Dashboard Cleaner 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Page2PDF – Posts & Pages to PDF Converter 30+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.