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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom javascript”

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 javascript”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Custom Adobe Fonts (Typekit) shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 401 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #2 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #3 4 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #4 5 CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #5 6 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #6 ↑5 7 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #13 ↓3 2 too low 12 Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #20 ↓4 7 too low 14 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too high 16 Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too low 17 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too high 18 360 Javascript Viewer 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Custom Adobe Fonts (Typekit) 60K+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too high 23 Custom CSS Pro 7K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Add Custom Codes – Insert Header, Footer, Custom PHP Snippets, CSS, Javascript 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑1 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.