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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “browser notification”

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 “browser notification”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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.

Ranked above its merit

PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #14 ↓4 8 too low 7 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #12 ↓4 13 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 ↓3 10 too low 14 Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 8K+ · 4.3★ (37) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Simple Banner – Easily add multiple Banners/Bars/Notifications/Announcements to the top or bottom of your website 50K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 WP BrowserUpdate 1K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress 200+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 New Order Notification for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #11 ↑1 9 too high 21 PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Email Notification on Login 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too high 24 Kaya Login Notification 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.