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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “clear frame”

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 “clear frame”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Qi Blocks shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 60K+ 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

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 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 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 ↑3 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too low 9 Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322) wp.org #15 ↓4 6 too low 10 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #12 ↑2 13 Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Zotpress 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #20 ↓3 6 too low 15 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Return Refund and Exchange For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓6 3 too high 23 HTTP Security Header 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too high 24 Photo Frame Editor – Custom Photo Frame Maker — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.