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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “checkup”

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 “checkup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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.

Ranked above its merit

Recomaze – AI Chat Agent, AEO & GEO shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10+ 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

Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 1028 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #1 2 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #2 3 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #3 4 Layouts for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #4 5 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #21 ↓2 16 too low 6 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #20 ↓3 14 too low 7 Booktics – Appointment Booking Calendar for Service Businesses 700+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Advanced Category and Custom Taxonomy Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 14 too low 9 PressHangar Site Checkup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 WP Edit Username 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓3 14 too low 11 International Telephone Input With Flags And Dial Codes 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 SiteHale 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 GeniousSonu Site Checkup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Aiplaz Link Checkup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Website Checkups — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Aegistha Security Checkup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 Keekan SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 SEOTHON Connect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Ausculte – Site Health Check, Security & SEO Audit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 Recomaze – AI Chat Agent, AEO & GEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 LS-WebStudio Product Optimizer for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 GoConsent™ – Cookie Consent Banner & Privacy Tools — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 getReport — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Digent Smart AI – Connect Site to Claude, Cursor & ChatGPT via MCP Server — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 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.