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

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 “wp clock”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Digital Clock shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Time Clock – A WordPress Employee & Volunteer Time Clock Plugin 500+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 too high 4 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #5 ↓4 1 too low 5 Simple Digital Clock 🕒 500+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #17 ↓1 11 too low 7 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization 9K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Countdown, Coming Soon, Maintenance – Countdown & Clock 10K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 WP Updates Notifier 20K+ · 4.2★ (35) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 MX Time Zone Clocks 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 All in One Time Clock Lite – Tracking Employee Time Has Never Been Easier 500+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Clock In Portal- Staff & Attendance Management 200+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 WP Flipclock 600+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 Digital Clock 200+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 WP Preloader 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22 World Clocks 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 IP2Location World Clock 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 L Live Clock Widget 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 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.