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

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 warning”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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.

W

Ranked above its merit

WPG Detect Browser shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 100+ 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

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Leverage Browser Caching 9K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP BrowserUpdate 1K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #9 10 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #12 13 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too low 14 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #14 ↓3 15 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Inactive Logout 10K+ · 4.8★ (106) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 WebP Express 300K+ · 4.4★ (162) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Speculative Loading 70K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 W WPG Detect Browser 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 18 too high 24 WebberZone Link Warnings 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.