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

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 “yourls”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 19. 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

kURL – Short URL Manager for YOURLS shows at wp.org #1 but places #5 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags 4K+ · 4.6★ (306) wp.org #3 2 too low 2

XPoster – Share to Bluesky and Mastodon 10K+ · 3.8★ (69) wp.org #2 3

Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #4 5

kURL – Short URL Manager for YOURLS 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #1 4 too high 6

No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Amazon Link Localization by BestAzon 100+ · 4.3★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk stale but ranked wp.org #8 1 too low 8 B Better YOURLS 200+ · 4.9★ (12) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 1 too low 9

YOURLS Link Creator 500+ · 4.5★ (13) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 1 too low 10

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.