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

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 “write”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 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

Weather Write shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10+ 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 ↑14 1 too high 4 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #10 ↑4 5 too low 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too high 8 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #8 9 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Git it Write – Write posts from GitHub 100+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #16 ↑3 1 too low 16 Shortcode Widget 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too high 20 Jetpack Social 30K+ · 3.3★ (74) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 BotWriter – AI Writer & SEO Content Generator 1K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓5 4 too high 22 AI WP Writer – SEO content generator, chatGPT, Gemini, Claude 3K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #20 ↑4 2 too high 23 AutoWP – AI Content Writer & Rewriter 900+ · 3.8★ (15) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Weather Write 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑3 10 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.