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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “deep linking”

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

Device-Based Redirect shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Gallery by Visual Portfolio places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 340 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #1 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others 10K+ · 4.8★ (193) wp.org #4 5 Meow Lightbox 10K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #9 10 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Read More Without Refresh 20K+ · 4.2★ (55) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 Album Gallery for Photo & Video 4K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Slider Pro 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 Accordion Slider 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Device-Based Redirect 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Easy Tabs Block – Smart, Lightweight & Responsive Tabs for the Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 Materialize Accordions 50+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 ByteFyre DB Replace 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Campi Moduli Italiani 400+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Copy Link to Heading – Easily add Anchor links for Headings 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Portfolio Gallery – Ultimate Portfolio, Filterable Grid & Image Slider 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 ContentPen 300+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.