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

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 “debug”, 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

Debug Log Viewer shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Sticky Menu & Sticky Header places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 763 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #1 2

Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #2 3

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5

Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7

Debug 2K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #3 4 too high 8

Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470) wp.org #17 ↓6 9 too low 9

Advanced Cron Manager – debug & control 30K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #19 9 too low 11

Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #24 ↓3 13 too low 12

WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #22 ↑2 9 too low 14

WP Debugging 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 15

Debug This 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑1 16

Debug Bar Console 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓2 8 too high 17

Code Profiler – WordPress Performance Profiling and Debugging Made Easy 8K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18

Developer Debug Tools 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19

Debug Log Viewer 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑1 12 too high 20

ElasticPress Debugging Add-On 800+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑1 11 too high 21

atec Debug 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22

Debug Status display 90+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23

BugTrace – Debug Log Tool 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24

Environment & Debug Bar 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.