wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dark web”

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 “dark web”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 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 signals wp.org

Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #1 2

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #2 2 too high 5

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 7

Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #12 5 too low 8

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #16 8 too low 9

Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #11 2 too low 10

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #4 8 too high 13

Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #8 5 too high 14

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #18 4 too low 15

Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #17 2 too low 16

hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

Known Agents – Track AI Bots and Crawlers, Block Scrapers, Analyze LLM Referral Traffic 1K+ · 4.8★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #9 9 too high 19

OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20

WooSwipe WooCommerce Gallery 3K+ · 4.5★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 1 too high 21

Web accessibility widget by tabnav 300+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #14 7 too high 22

Progressify – All-in-One Progressive Web App (PWA) 100+ · 5.0★ (4) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 13 too high 24

PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 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.