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← Rankings

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

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 “adds”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

Re-Add Text Justify Button shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 195 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 wp.org
1 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #1 2 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #4 5 Ajax add to cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #5 6 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 A Add MIME Types 50K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #16 ↑2 8 too low 9 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too low 10 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Add Widget After Content 6K+ · 4.7★ (38) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Add to Cart Redirect for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 Add Customer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 ↑12 1 too high 14 Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on 7K+ · 4.2★ (125) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 WP All Import – Import Add-On for ACF 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Gravity Forms CLI Add-On 20K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Re-Add Text Justify Button 20K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Add Featured Image Column 3K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 too low 19 YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons 20K+ · 3.7★ (57) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Add as Preferred Source on Google 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 WPC AJAX Add to Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (18) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Add From Server Lite 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 A Add Password Field for Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 YITH WooCommerce Brands Add-On 8K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.