wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “customize comment”

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 “customize comment”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 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

Comment Approved Notifier Extended shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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 signals wp.org

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too low 3

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #7 ↑3 4 too low 4

Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too low 6

Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7

Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) low rating, top placement wp.org #4 ↑3 3 too high 8

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #18 ↓2 10 too low 9

Comment Form WP – Customize Default Comment Form 600+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #2 ↑1 7 too high 10

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #13 ↑5 3 too low 11

Comments Import & Export 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #22 ↓5 10 too low 13

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #19 6 too low 14

Ajaxify Comments – Ajax and Lazy Loading Comments 3K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16

Genial Comments 4K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #10 6 too high 17

My WP Customize Admin/Frontend 8K+ · 4.3★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #8 9 too high 18

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 1 too low 21

Comment Approved Notifier Extended 500+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #9 12 too high 22

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Comments Extra Fields For Post,Pages and CPT 500+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24

Comment Mention 100+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews 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.