wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dom depth”

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 “dom depth”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Set Price Note (Units, Offers, Editions) for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 600+ 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

LuckyWP Table of Contents places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 884 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Complianz – Terms and Conditions 300K+ · 4.9★ (187) wp.org #1 2

LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #2 3 S Simple Lightbox 100K+ · 4.3★ (239) wp.org #3 4

WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

LuckyWP Table of Contents 90K+ · 4.9★ (884) stale but ranked wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too low 7

GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8

Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9

Set Price Note (Units, Offers, Editions) for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #4 5 too high 10

Sigmize: A/B Testing, Session Recordings, Heatmaps & Revenue Tracking for WooCommerce, SureCart & EDD 5K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11

Vulnity Security 40+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12

AI Chatbot & Live Chat – WebChatAgent 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14

FETCHUB – AI RSS Feed Aggregator & Translator 20+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #22 8 too low 15

Post2Podcast 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16

Speed Auditor — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17

Commandify – Command Palette, Content Search, Themes Control, Product Edits, Context Actions, Dynamic content, Page builders navigation and actions 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 7 too low 18

Gallery for Google Photos – share your albums right on your site 1K+ · 2.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19

ZHS Site Audit and SEO Diagnostics — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20

ezStats Analytics 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21

Tada Confetti – Celebration Effects 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22

LumenCache 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too high 23 U U&AI SEO Bridge 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too high 24

Dynamic Functionalities 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.