Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “advertisements”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress shows at wp.org #10 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Modal places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 124 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #1 2 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 Videopack 10K+ · 4.8★ (63) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Easy Modal 7K+ · 4.4★ (124) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11 Post Types Unlimited 10K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 BlockSpare – Gutenberg Blocks, AI Content Generator & Site Builder for news, magazine, blog and business sites 10K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #17 ↑3 5 too low 13 Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #19 ↑2 6 too low 14 Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #13 ↑5 1 too high 15 No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Spam Protect for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Video Gallery – YouTube, Vimeo & Video Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Jock On Air Now (JOAN) 400+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 SmartFormat feed for SmartNews 1K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 Chicory Shoppable Recipes 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Generate Security.txt 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Full Width Banner Slider Wp 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.