Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “enhancement”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Header Enhancement shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

W3 Total Cache places #7 on merit, 4.4★ from 5420 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 ShopLentor – All-in-One WooCommerce Growth & Store Enhancement Plugin 80K+ · 4.5★ (278) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 ↑2 4 too low 7 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #18 ↑1 11 too low 8 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too low 9 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11 W WP Multibyte Patch 1M+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 too high 12 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #19 ↑3 7 too low 13 Blocksy Companion 300K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Store Toolkit – WooCommerce Extensions, Quick Enhancements & Handy Tools 8K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Block Enhancements – Extended styling for the Block Editor 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 Disable and Remove Google Fonts | GDPR & DSGVO friendly 100K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Remoji – Post/Comment Reaction and Enhancement 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 JetHost Total Care – Security & Enhancements 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 RSS Enhancements for The Events Calendar 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Header Enhancement 500+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 18 too high 23 Justify for Paragraph Block 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 24 BEA – Loco Translate Enhancements 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.