Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

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

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 “customisation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Social Sharing Plugin – Kiwi shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Spotlight Social Feeds – Block, Shortcode, and Widget places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 171 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 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8666) wp.org #1 2 HireZoot – Job Listings, Career Page & Recruitment Tool 30K+ · 4.8★ (193) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #6 ↑17 2 too low 5 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 Responsive Menu – Create Mobile-Friendly Menu 70K+ · 4.5★ (573) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Age Gate 40K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Download Attachments 8K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Spotlight Social Feeds – Block, Shortcode, and Widget 60K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 Frontend Reset Password 10K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 Donation Thermometer 2K+ · 4.4★ (12) wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14 M Mammoth .docx converter 20K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Free Downloads WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (85) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Off-Canvas Sidebars & Menus (Slidebars) 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Lazy Load for Comments 2K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 Waymark 900+ · 5.0★ (53) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Social Sharing Plugin – Kiwi 4K+ · 4.1★ (18) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Hierarchical HTML Sitemap 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 ELEX WooCommerce Request a Quote 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 UiPress lite | Effortless custom dashboards, admin themes and pages 6K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 ELEX WooCommerce Product Price Custom Text (Before & After Text) and Discount 2K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24 Extra Styling for MemberPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.