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

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 “delete”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Delete All Products for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiteSpeed Cache places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #2 3 Bulk Delete 30K+ · 4.3★ (129) wp.org #3 4 Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #4 5 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #12 ↓7 5 too low 8 Simple Revisions Delete 10K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #8 ↓2 9 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Delete Expired Transients 4K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #6 ↑2 4 too high 11 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #23 ↓5 12 too low 12 WP Frontend Delete Account 4K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 DX Delete Attached Media 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 Delete All Products for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too high 16 Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #22 ↓5 5 too low 18 Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too high 19 Delete product images for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Delete Unscaled Images 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Force Delete Posts 200+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 SiteEase Bulk Delete Manager 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Users Bulk Delete With Preview 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Auto Delete Applications – Add-on for HireZoot 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.