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

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 “deferring”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

PowerUp – Admin Tools (Login/Logout Redirects, Scripts & Comments Control) shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ 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

Autoptimize places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 1428 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 Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #1 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #2 3 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #17 ↓1 12 too low 6 Defer Transactional Emails for WooCommerce | Speed up the WooCommerce checkout 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Speed Up – Optimize CSS Delivery 500+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 PageSpeed Ninja – Cache, Minify, Defer CSS JavaScript, Critical CSS, Optimize Images, Convert WebP 5K+ · 4.5★ (114) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Triomize – SEO, AEO & GEO Content Optimization 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 PixJet – NextGen Image Optimizer & CDN 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 JDITC Add Wordfence 2FA to Ultimate Member 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Defer for Contact Form 7 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓3 17 KushalPawar Performance Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 CacheVanta Performance Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Logspot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Wonyx Speed Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 MachStyle — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 PowerUp – Admin Tools (Login/Logout Redirects, Scripts & Comments Control) 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 BusinessConsent Cookie Consent with Google Consent Mode — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Quickfire Cache and Speed Booster — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓5

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.