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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “empty pages”

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 “empty pages”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Empty P Tag shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 365 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #1 2 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #2 3 I Insert Pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #3 4 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #7 8 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Legal Pages – Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, and Cookie Notice Generator 8K+ · 4.3★ (29) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Conditionally display featured image on singular posts and pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Privacy Policy Generator, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, Cookie Policy & Disclaimer Templates – WPLP Legal Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 WP Create Multiple Posts & Pages 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Empty P Tag 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Custom Empty Price for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Admin Options Pages 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 List Child Pages Shortcode 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Code and Core Remove Empty P Tags 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #17 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.