Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Admin login URL Change shows at wp.org #8 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #1 2 Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #2 3 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #3 4 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #6 7 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #20 ↑4 10 too low 11 Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #11 ↓1 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 #18 ↓5 6 too low 13 Coupons & Add to Cart by URL Links for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 ↓2 14 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #21 ↓8 7 too low 15 Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Bing URL Submissions Plugin 40K+ · 3.3★ (21) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Media Export & Clean 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Viable URL Media Uploader 90+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Go Redirects URL Forwarder 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 U URL Replace 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 1 1ON1 URL REDIRECTS 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓4 2 too low 23 Canonical Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Url Rewrite Analyzer 400+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #17 7 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.