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

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 “bounce”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Email Auth – DKIM, SPF, DMARC, Bounce Address, From Address shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 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 signals wp.org

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #1 2

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #2 3

Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #4 ↑2 5

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #5 ↓2 6

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑6 1 too low 7

SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓1 9

Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #17 ↑2 7 too low 11

EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12

WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme 10K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13

Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Events Made Easy 1K+ · 4.6★ (111) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

WPC Smart Quick View for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.9★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19

Email Auth – DKIM, SPF, DMARC, Bounce Address, From Address 200+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 13 too high 20

Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21

Mailster AmazonSES Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 11 too high 22

Email Marketing by EmailOctopus 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too high 23

AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24

Mailster SendGrid Integration 900+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 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.