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

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

MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage shows at wp.org #3 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 334 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Flying Scripts: Delay JavaScript to Improve Site Speed & Performance 30K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too low 5 Hosting Benchmark tool 4K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Swift Performance Lite 6K+ · 3.6★ (125) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #17 ↓2 8 too low 10 UsageDD 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #13 14 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too low 15 MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↓1 12 too high 16 Canvas Image Resize 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #23 ↓4 6 too low 18 System Dashboard 900+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too low 19 EDI – Обмен данными между WooCommerce и 1С 600+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #19 ↑2 20 Simple Disable XML-RPC 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Speed Up – Page Cache 50+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Hungry Resource Monitor 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 Templ Optimizer 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Instant Back/Forward 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 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.