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

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

Header Footer Builder for Elementor shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 2

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #4 5

Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

Header and Footer Scripts 200K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #6 1 too high 8

Contact Form Clean and Simple 7K+ · 4.7★ (195) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #7 2 too high 10

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #17 7 too low 11

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #22 11 too low 12

Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #13 14

Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) not PHP-current wp.org #12 2 too high 15

FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #15 16

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #5 13 too high 19

Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #21 2 too low 20

Security Header Generator 400+ · 4.9★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 9 too high 21

Header Footer Script Adder 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #14 7 too high 22

Host Header Injection Fix 400+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too high 23

Media Export & Clean 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 7 too high 24

Floaty Header – Sticky Header, Floating Bar & Announcement Bar 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews 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.