wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “desktop mode”

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 “desktop mode”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Coming Soon Maintenance Mode shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #6 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #4 5

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7

Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #6 ↑3 3 too high 10

Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too high 11

Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #14 3 too low 12

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13

Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #18 5 too low 14

Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15

Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode by Colorlib 5K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too high 16

Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 6K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #3 13 too high 17

PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #20 3 too low 18

Landing Page Builder – Coming Soon page, Maintenance Mode, Lead Page, WordPress Landing Pages 8K+ · 4.6★ (202) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20

CookieBoxs – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent & Google Consent Mode v2 200+ · 4.4★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21

Ultimate Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Under Construction – Gutenberg Block Builder & Landing Page 9K+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22

WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 12 too high 23

Super Easy Maintenance Mode – Coming Soon & Under Construction 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24

Amitry Maintenance Mode & Coming Soon 70+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓2 9 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.