Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “ada”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Web Accessibility Toolkit – Accessibility Checker & ARIA for WCAG, Section 508 & ADA Compliance shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 205 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #1 2 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #5 ↑4 3 too low 3 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too low 6 WP ADA Compliance Check Basic 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #15 ↓5 6 too low 10 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Accessibility by UserWay 80K+ · 4.0★ (57) wp.org #13 ↓3 2 too low 12 Screen Reader Accessibility – WCAG, Text-to-Speech & AI Accessibility Fixes 600+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Accessibility Tool Kit: WP Accessibility checker plugin for WCAG, Section 508, ADA, EAA Compliance 1K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Web Accessibility by accessiBe 10K+ · 4.1★ (32) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 Accessibility New Window Warnings 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↑1 10 too high 17 AI Alt Text Generator 2K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Accessibility by AllAccessible 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Accessibility Assistant – EAA ADA WCAG AODA 100+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Accesibilidad Web con el Widget de AccedeMe 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 NOWPayments for WooCommerce – Crypto Payment Gateway 3K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Real Accessibility: Accessibility Widget & Toolbar 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Web Accessibility Toolkit – Accessibility Checker & ARIA for WCAG, Section 508 & ADA Compliance 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 16 too high 24 One Accessibility – WordPress Accessibility Plugin & ADA Compliance Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑6 14 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.