wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “development requests”
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 requests”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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
Local Development shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 851 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
HTTP Requests Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 
Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9 
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 
Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too low 12 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851)
wp.org #18 ↓2 6 too low 13 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262)
wp.org #13 14 L Local Development 80+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #3 11 too high 15 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872)
wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 
CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538)
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 
WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122)
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470)
wp.org #21 3 too low 19 
Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226)
wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20 
Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50)
wp.org #14 ↑3 6 too high 21 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273)
wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 
Yoast Test Helper 50K+ · 4.9★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.