Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more shows at wp.org #12 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 34 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster places #11 on merit, 3.3★ from 617 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 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Admin Bookmarks 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 CBX Bookmark & Favorite 1K+ · 4.6★ (49) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Bookmark Card 700+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Embed Google Photos album 3K+ · 4.4★ (15) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Webmention 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Rename wp-admin login 9K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 Slickstream: Engagement and Conversions 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19 Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #20 21 Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 NETSENSAI Shield 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 Multicons 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓3 24 Enable Mastodon Apps 500+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.