Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “display plugin information”

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 “display plugin information”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

VK Post Author Display shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Updates Manager places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 726 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #5 ↑4 6 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #6 ↑2 7 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too low 8 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #8 ↓3 9 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #9 ↓3 10 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #16 ↓5 6 too low 11 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #12 ↓2 13 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #13 14 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 W WP Display Header 7K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #7 ↓3 10 too high 18 Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Conditionally display featured image on singular posts and pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Plugin Report 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 Shipping Method Display Style for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Advanced Product Information for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Cookie Information – Cookie Banner with Consent Mode v2 2K+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.