Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “deferred”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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.

P

Ranked above its merit

Page Optimize shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 213 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #2 3 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #19 ↓1 12 too low 8 Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Premmerce Product Filter for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.4★ (22) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #18 ↑3 8 too low 11 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #23 ↓10 12 too low 12 Fast Etsy Listings 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑2 1 too low 14 Post Status Notifier Lite 700+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Klarna for WooCommerce 20K+ · 2.3★ (20) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #3 13 too high 17 Nexi XPay 7K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18 Leaving Notice Popup For External Links – nofollow, noopener & New Tab 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too high 19 PublishPress Statuses – Custom Post Status and Workflow 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Quick Maps – Google Maps Without API Key 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 HeySpark – Live Chat and Call Now Plugin 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Melu Live Chat 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Autopay 3K+ · 2.1★ (7) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 ComfinoPay Payment Gateway 300+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.