Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “apache2”

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 “apache2”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

CloudSecure WP Security shows at wp.org #1 but places #6 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (335) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 FG Drupal to WordPress 700+ · 4.6★ (111) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Custom PHP Settings 10K+ · 4.4★ (15) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 FG Magento to WooCommerce 200+ · 4.8★ (83) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 FG SPIP to WordPress 100+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #5 6 CloudSecure WP Security 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Ethereum Wallet 10+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 P PDF Thumbnails 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 GEO Metrics AI Traffic Monitor 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 W WPygments 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 TFO Graphviz 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 R Remove IP 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 YEGHRO Nostr Login 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Error Establishing DB Connection Monitor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 T Tracking for Fedex USPS 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 T TestDrive 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 W What The WP? — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 P Posts and Pages GitHub Backup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Raw 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 L LightOn Server Monitoring — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20

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.