Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “advance”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) places #11 on merit, 4.2★ from 71 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too low 2 Advance Product Search- Voice & Ajax Search for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Multi Page Auto Advance for Gravity Forms 2K+ · 4.3★ (20) wp.org #3 4 Advance Canonical URL 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Jquery Validation For Contact Form 7 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #17 ↓3 9 too low 9 Portfolio Grid – Filterable Gallery, Grid & Slider Showcase 800+ · 4.4★ (33) wp.org #9 10 Advance Bank Payment Transfer Gateway 1K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #22 ↓2 11 too low 12 Advanced Menu Manager Pro – Built for Content-heavy WordPress Sites to Add, Filter, Lock, and Edit Menus Easily 400+ · 3.7★ (22) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Product Attachment for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #12 ↑4 1 too high 14 Force Refresh 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 AWCA – The Great Analytics Insights for Your eStore 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #15 ↓3 16 Jetpack Social 30K+ · 3.3★ (74) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Advanced User Avatar | Custom Profile Picture Uploader for WordPress, WooCommerce, and BuddyPress 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Booter – Bots & Crawlers Manager 7K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓3 20 Bangladeshi Payments Mobile – MFS Gateway, QR Code, Advance COD Protection, Thermal POS Invoicing & WhatsApp Suite 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 SlingBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks by FunnelKit (Formerly WooFunnels) 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓3 22 Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview 10K+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #4 ↑1 18 too high 23 WooCommerce Payfast Gateway 30K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 A Advance Pricing Table 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓3 6 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.