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

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 “xhtml”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 50+ 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

Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic places #6 on merit, 4.4★ from 1053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #1 2 W WP Customer Reviews 20K+ · 4.3★ (528) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Donations via PayPal 20K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #4 5 Leverage Browser Caching 9K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #5 6 Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ · 4.4★ (1053) wp.org #21 ↓1 15 too low 7 wp-forecast 4K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #7 8 Comet Cache 20K+ · 4.4★ (108) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Plugins List 700+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #9 10 U Urvanov Syntax Highlighter 3K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Simple Link Library 40+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Foliopress WYSIWYG 200+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Interactive Polish Map 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #13 14 SAR One Click Security 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Hreflang Customizer 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 W WE – Minify HTML 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 LinkMaster – Link Management, SEO, Broken Links & Redirects 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 B Blogroll Links 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 ČSFD Last Seen 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Honeylog 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Link Extension for XFN — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Manly Fix — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 G Gmcfuerte XML Sitemap — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.