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← Rankings

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

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 “cpanel”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

TNC Toolbox: Web Performance shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ 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

SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 665 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #4 ↑4 1 too low 4 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WebFacing™ – Email Accounts management for cPanel® 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202) wp.org #11 ↑4 3 too low 9 Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects 9K+ · 4.9★ (665) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 LWS Hide Login 20K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Clone 40K+ · 4.1★ (339) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 iControlWP 1K+ · 4.8★ (63) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Transferito: WP Migration 300+ · 4.5★ (16) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Back Button Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 XML Feed for Skroutz & BestPrice for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #21 ↑3 1 too low 21 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 TNC Toolbox: Web Performance 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Reseller Store 1K+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 DigiTimber cPanel Integration 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.