wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “301 redirection”
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 redirection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.
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
All In One Redirection shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #1 2 
404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321)
wp.org #2 3 
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #3 4 
Redirection 100K+ · 5.0★ (419)
wp.org #4 5 
SEO Redirection Plugin – 301 Redirect Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (73)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #12 ↑2 6 too low 7 
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 #8 ↓3 1 too low 8 
Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too high 9 
301 Redirects & 404 Error Log 30K+ · 4.6★ (28)
wp.org #6 3 too high 10 
WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146)
wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267)
wp.org #20 ↓3 9 too low 12 
IP2Location Redirection 7K+ · 4.3★ (43)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 
All 404 Redirect to Homepage 200K+ · 4.1★ (96)
wp.org #13 ↓1 14 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
Redirect 404 to Homepage 60K+ · 4.6★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #11 4 too high 16 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 
SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48)
wp.org #16 ↑3 1 too high 18 
Trash Duplicate and 301 Redirect 900+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 All In One Redirection 1K+ · 4.4★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #10 9 too high 20 
Advanced 301 and 302 Redirect 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 
Post Date Change Redirection 50+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 
WP Post Redirect 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 
Simple Redirection 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #15 8 too high 24 
Post Redirection – 301, 404 Redirects 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.