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

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 specific css”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Disable CSS JS Cache shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Prevent Browser Caching 10K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #1 2 CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #2 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Simple CSS 80K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #6 ↑5 1 too high 8 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too low 11 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Add Admin CSS 10K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too high 15 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #22 ↑2 7 too low 16 WindPress – Tailwind CSS integration for WordPress 3K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Page Speed Optimizer: HTTP/2 Push, Async JavaScript, and Defer CSS 6K+ · 4.7★ (64) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 WP BrowserUpdate 1K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #24 ↓4 5 too low 20 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #20 ↑2 21 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 Disable CSS JS Cache 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Berq Used CSS – Remove Unused CSS Automatically 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 W WPG Detect Browser 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.