wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “about us”

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 “about us”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 6 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

Automatic pages for Privacy Policy, Terms, About, Contact us shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #1 2

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #7 ↓3 8

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11

Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #13 ↓3 2 too low 12

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #12 ↑1 13

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #20 ↓5 7 too low 14

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #17 ↓3 3 too low 15

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #21 ↓4 5 too low 17

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑12 11 too high 18

Ajax add to cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 2 too high 21

Smartarget – Chat Buttons & Engagement Apps 900+ · 4.6★ (10) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22

Interactive US Map – Create Clickable & Customizable U.S. Maps 300+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23

Automatic pages for Privacy Policy, Terms, About, Contact us 40+ · 3.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 13 too high 24

Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews 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.