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

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 push”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 #16 on merit, a gap of 8 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

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 142 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Page Speed Optimizer: HTTP/2 Push, Async JavaScript, and Defer CSS 6K+ · 4.7★ (64) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Perfecty Push Notifications 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #20 ↑1 13 too low 8 Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 SendPulse Free Web Push 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Gravitec.net – Web Push Notifications 1K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress 200+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 8K+ · 4.3★ (37) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Document Viewer – let visitors view files right in the browser 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 INDIGITALL – Instant Chat, Web Push Notifications 90+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Push Notifications For Web 10+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 WhoKnew Signal – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications & PWA 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Subscribers – Free Web Push Notifications 1K+ · 2.9★ (8) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Web Push Notifications by Aimtell 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Ultimate Push Notifications 50+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.