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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “years shortcode”

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 “years shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

Years Ago Today shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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 Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 2 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Shortcode Widget 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Shortcode for Current Date 10K+ · 5.0★ (116) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Current Year Shortcode VICT 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Years Ago Today 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Smart Copyright Year (Lite) – Auto Current Year Updater Shortcode 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 S Shortcodes in Sidebar 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Dynamic Copyright Year 800+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.