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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “development label”

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 “development label”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Automated PostNord label and pickup – HPOS Supported shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 50+ 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

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #6 7 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #7 8 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 YITH Color and Label Variations for WooCommerce 9K+ · 3.6★ (22) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Print Anywhere & Create PDFs of Order Receipts, Invoices, Labels & More. 1K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Automated FedEx live/manual rates with shipping labels – HPOS supported 200+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #20 21 WP Swiper 5K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Automated PostNord label and pickup – HPOS Supported 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 10 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.