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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “clean head”

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 “clean head”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Speed Up – Clean WP shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1233 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Head Meta Data 10K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #1 2 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 W wp_head() cleaner 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Header and Footer Scripts 200K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #18 ↑3 3 too low 16 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Speed Up – Clean WP 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #20 21 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Head Trimmer 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 Capo – Head Optimizer 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.