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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “css cache buster”

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 “css cache buster”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

DadsFam Cache shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Appointments places #12 on merit, 4.3★ from 131 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #1 2 Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 S Super Light Cache Buster 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6 Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 SuperFlare Cache – Cloudflare Cache & Auto-Purging 70+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 ATR Cookie Notice 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance 5K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 EasyFonts – Host Google Fonts Locally, Fast & Auto-Optimize, GDPR Compliant 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 QR Code Composer – Automatic QR code generation 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Cookie Notice & Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Init View Count – AI-Powered, Trending, REST API 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 DadsFam Cache 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 RenderWhen for Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 PlugUpp Link & Image Health Audit: Broken Link, Broken Image and Mixed Content Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Feather – Elementor Performance Optimizer | Asset Cleanup, Page Speed & Database Cleanup 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Arva SEO – Speed Booster & Security Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 A1 Tools 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 WFY24 Weather Widget 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 inPIPE by Seresa — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.