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

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 “yesterday”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

ProScores – Live Scores shows at wp.org #6 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Today-Yesterday Dates 90+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #4 ↑3 5 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #19 14 too low 6 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 BZScore – Live Score 500+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 WPS Visitor Counter 10K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 N Ni WooCommerce Custom Order Status 2K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 N Ni WooCommerce Sales Report – Orders, Revenue & Sales Analytics Dashboard 400+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 ProScores – Live Scores 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 DayOfWeek 300+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 API Stats 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Weblix Analytics – Real-Time Stats & Visitor Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Stetic 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Simple Show Date 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 N Ni Cost of Goods for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #18 19 WP Theme Statistic 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 N Ni WooCommerce Sales Report By User Role 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too high 21 Advanced Date Time Field For Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Elementor & Fluent Forms 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 22 WP-RelativeDate 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too high 23 AJAX Post Search and Filter 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Yac Object Cache 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.