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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “auto reload”

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 “auto reload”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 3 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

Auto Refresh Post & Page shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 80+ 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

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 832 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 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Live Auto Refresh (Hot Reload / Live Reload for WordPress Developers) 100+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #22 15 too low 8 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Easy Auto Reload – Auto Refresh 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 10 too high 12 C Clear Cache for Me 40K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Automatic Translator with Google Translate 2K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Auto Refresh Post & Page 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 Fatal Plugin Auto Deactivator – Never let a plugin break your site 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Image Ticker & Logo Slider – Continuous Auto-Scroll Carousel with Lightbox 1K+ · 3.6★ (9) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Volteruno – AI Blog Auto-Publish 70+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 22 AFB – Auto Form Builder: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Multi-Step Forms, Conditional Logic & AI 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 OrderPulse: Auto Refresh Orders for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Reloadify Frontend Sync – Auto Reload, Server & Media Optimization — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.