Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “eol”, we agree with wp.org 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

SpeeSeek – Find What Slows Your WordPress Site shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 3055 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #1 2 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #2 3 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #12 ↓2 9 too low 4 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #20 ↓2 16 too low 5 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #14 ↓3 9 too low 6 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #15 ↓3 9 too low 7 WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055) wp.org #24 ↓11 17 too low 8 Discontinued Product Stock Status for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 S Social Photo Fetcher 1K+ · 3.7★ (12) wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too high 11 Ecommerce Fabrick 1K+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Performance Optimisation — · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓2 5 too high 13 Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 QNAP NAS Backup 2K+ · 3.1★ (9) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 Security Safe 600+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #21 ↓2 6 too low 16 Publish To Apple News 4K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 Recap Site Auditor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓2 8 too high 18 FA WP Admin Menu Icons 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓4 19 Check System Details — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓2 9 too high 20 SpeeSeek – Find What Slows Your WordPress Site — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓2 12 too high 21 Price Sync for eMAG — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓2 10 too high 22 Holiday Mode for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23 Lnk.Bio 200+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too high 24 Plugin Memory Usage 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.