Plugin Pulse Beta
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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “blind copy”

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 “blind copy”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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.

A

Ranked above its merit

Alt checker shows at wp.org #7 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

JetFormBuilder — Dynamic Blocks Form Builder places #7 on merit, 4.2★ from 72 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 ↑18 2 M Chart 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WP-Appbox 2K+ · 4.5★ (63) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 JetFormBuilder — Dynamic Blocks Form Builder 80K+ · 4.2★ (72) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 BCC All Emails 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Migrator – Site Migration and Backup 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Web357 Mail Connect for Microsoft Outlook 365 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑3 1 too low 11 Send Emails — Newsletters, Automation & Email Marketing for WordPress 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 Accessibility Assistant – Readabler 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 A Alt checker 20+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓2 6 too high 14 Shrinkwell Image Optimizer 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too high 15 citelayer® – Agent Readiness | MCP Abilities, Schema.org 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 ViroBuilder – AI Landing Page & Website Builder 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 Templates Rocket Store Toolkit for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 StoreDisplay – Product Display Layouts for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19 Freshet Unused Media 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Animation Kit – Animated Backgrounds & WebGL Effects 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Stillward Security 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓5 1 too low 22 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too high 23 Accessibility Helper 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Repoevo – Plugin Analytics, Keyword Tracking & Competitor Monitoring 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.