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← Rankings

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

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 “asides”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Simple SEO shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 400+ 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.

Buried gem

Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 131 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #1 2 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #2 3 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Better Search Replace 1M+ · 4.3★ (546) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Prevent Browser Caching 10K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP Call Button – Easy Click to Call Button for WordPress 40K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Add to Calendar Button 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 Cool FormKit Lite – Advanced Form Builder for Elementor 20K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Paytium: Mollie payment forms & donations 2K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13 Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 Coupon X – Discount Popups, Promo Codes Pop Ups for WooCommerce & Announcement Popups 1K+ · 4.9★ (52) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 AI Copilot – ChatGPT Chatbot & AI Engine for Post Automation 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Double Youpï Refined Admin Dashboard – Admin Theme with Dark Mode & Media Folders 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Integrate Dynamics 365 CRM 80+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Simple SEO 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 AjaxPress – SPA & Ajax Navigation with Persistent Audio Player for Radio 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Verge3D Publishing and E-Commerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Ultimate Classified Listings – Classifieds, Directory & Marketplace 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Discourage Search Engines – Dashboard notification 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 Icons Font Loader – use web icons anywhere on your site, fast 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓5 7 too high 24 Double Youpï Refined Media Library – Media Folders, Collections & WebP 10+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.