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

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 “device”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Device Detector shows at wp.org #4 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 M Multi Device Switcher 10K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #7 ↑2 4 too low 4 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #12 ↑3 8 too low 5 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #10 ↑10 5 too low 6 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #16 ↑6 7 too low 10 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #22 ↓1 12 too low 11 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #20 ↓3 9 too low 12 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #23 ↓10 11 too low 13 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #21 ↓3 7 too low 15 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 ↑1 11 too high 18 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Device Wrapper 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↓1 17 too high 21 Device-Based Redirect 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 ICWT Responsive Device Preview 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 13 too high 23 Device Detector 500+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 19 too high 24 Responsive Testing: simulate different devices 100+ · 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.