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

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 “autosave”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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.

T

Ranked above its merit

TGG – WP Optimizer shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 700+ 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

Speed Booster Pack ⚡ PageSpeed Optimization Suite places #9 on merit, 4.3★ from 186 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 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #5 ↑3 4 too low 2 Disable Gutenberg Autosave 2K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 B BuddyPress Docs 6K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Speed Booster Pack ⚡ PageSpeed Optimization Suite 8K+ · 4.3★ (186) wp.org #17 ↓2 8 too low 10 JetFormBuilder — Dynamic Blocks Form Builder 80K+ · 4.2★ (72) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12 Travelly – Tour & Travel Booking Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #14 ↑8 1 too low 14 JetHost Total Care – Security & Enhancements 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 Cache Cleaner X-Ray – Performance & Database Diagnostics 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 The Off Switch (formerly WP Avoid Slow) 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 SurveyX Builder – Survey, Poll, Quiz & Feedback Form 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 T TGG – WP Optimizer 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 Perform – Optimize Performance 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too high 20 ZenPress 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Performance & Security 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 LAPDI Disable Auto-Save 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 Comfortable Admin Page 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 SlideCraft – Responsive Slider & Carousel 80+ · 1.0★ (2) 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.