wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom head”
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 “custom head”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Add Code To Head shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 2K+ 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
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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.
Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51)
wp.org #1 2 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Head Meta Data 10K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
AddFunc Head & Footer Code 20K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511)
wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #20 10 too low 11 
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
Post/Page Specific Custom Code 6K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #10 8 too high 19 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Custom Fields for Gutenberg 1K+ · 4.9★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #16 4 too high 21 
SMNTCS Custom Logo Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Add Code To Head 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #5 17 too high 23 
Add Custom Codes – Insert Header, Footer, Custom PHP Snippets, CSS, Javascript 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
Analytics Head 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #7 17 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.