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← Rankings

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

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 “classic”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Classic Blog Grid shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiteSpeed Cache places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 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 Classic Editor 8M+ · 4.9★ (1251) wp.org #1 2 C Classic Widgets 2M+ · 4.9★ (272) wp.org #2 3 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Classic Editor + 30K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Stop Spammers Classic 20K+ · 4.4★ (243) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #14 ↑4 7 too low 8 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #18 ↑4 10 too low 9 Title and Nofollow For Links (Classic Editor) 10K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #7 ↑6 2 too high 10 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #21 ↓6 11 too low 11 Classic Editor and Classic Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too low 13 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #15 ↓9 2 too low 14 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 No Gutenberg? – Choose Where to Use the Block Editor or the Classic Editor 9K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Classic Visual Editor Options 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Classic Menu in Navigation Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑3 1 too high 18 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Enable Classic Editor & Widgets 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Advanced Classic Editor 2K+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Classic Addons – WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 BP Classic 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑3 9 too high 23 Classic Blog Grid 3K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 14 too high 24 TCD Classic Editor 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.