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← Rankings

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

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 “break”, 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

Speedx Smart Line Breaks shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup places #4 on merit, 4.5★ from 7676 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3 Multi Step for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Quantity Discounts, Breaks & Product Bundles for Woocommerce By Bundler 400+ · 4.5★ (51) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #7 ↓4 1 too low 7 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #10 ↑4 3 too low 8 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #9 10 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 JSM Non-Breaking Space (nbsp) for French Content 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) wp.org #5 ↑1 7 too high 13 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #21 ↑2 8 too low 14 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too high 15 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 Remove Footer Credit 60K+ · 4.7★ (88) wp.org #16 ↓3 17 Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 Zalomení 6K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 PDF Forms Filler for CF7 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 Speedx Smart Line Breaks 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 16 too high 23 Fatal Plugin Auto Deactivator – Never let a plugin break your site 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Quantity Discounts, Breaks & Product Bundles for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.