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← Rankings

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

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 tab”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 2 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

Floating Side Tab shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 600+ 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

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 External Product New Tab for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #2 3 Browser Tab Title Reminder 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too low 7 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #16 ↓4 9 too low 8 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #8 9 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #20 ↑1 7 too low 14 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Document Viewer – let visitors view files right in the browser 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #21 ↑3 5 too low 17 Plethora Tabs + Accordions 2K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Easy Tabs Block – Smart, Lightweight & Responsive Tabs for the Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Advanced Accordion Gutenberg Block – Create Beautiful FAQs, Content Accordions & Interactive Tabs 9K+ · 4.1★ (34) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Floating Side Tab 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 Tab Return Notifier 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 Tabs Block – Responsive Gutenberg Tabs for Block Editor 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑2 11 too high 24 Attention-Grabbing Browser Tab Titles 30+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.