wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “301”
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 “301”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
Advanced 301 and 302 Redirect shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ 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
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #1 2 
404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321)
wp.org #2 3 
Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Redirection 100K+ · 5.0★ (419)
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↓3 1 too low 9 
301 Redirects & 404 Error Log 30K+ · 4.6★ (28)
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 
Quick 301 Redirects 7K+ · 4.6★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 6 too high 11 
SEO Redirection Plugin – 301 Redirect Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (73)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 
All 404 Redirect to Homepage 200K+ · 4.1★ (96)
wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 
Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 
Redirect 404 to Homepage 60K+ · 4.6★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #14 15 
Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94)
wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 
Blogger Importer Extended 4K+ · 4.7★ (131)
wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 
No Category Base (WPML) 100K+ · 4.5★ (34)
wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 Advanced 301 and 302 Redirect 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #7 11 too high 19 
Permalink Manager for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (26)
wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 
Trash Duplicate and 301 Redirect 900+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 
JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Simple Page Redirect 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 W WP Force Lowercase URLs 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
Advanced Redirect Manager 301 70+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 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.