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

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 “xbox”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 18. 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

Yova Game Cards for ludoteca.dev shows at wp.org #3 but places #7 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP-Appbox places #3 on merit, 4.5★ from 63 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

WP-Appbox 2K+ · 4.5★ (63) not PHP-current wp.org #7 4 too low 4

Friendly User Agent for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (10) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #5 1 too low 5

WP-UserAgent 200+ · 5.0★ (5) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 3 too low 7

Yova Game Cards for ludoteca.dev — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 4 too high 8

TograStickyElements — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 4 too high 9

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.