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

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

Fatal Error Notify shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #1 2

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #2 ↑2 3

Smart Custom 404 Error Page 100K+ · 4.9★ (1197) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #5 6

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓3 9 E Error Log Monitor 20K+ · 4.3★ (48) wp.org #6 ↑13 3 too high 10

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12

301 Redirects & 404 Error Log 30K+ · 4.6★ (28) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #10 3 too high 14

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #22 8 too low 15

Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #15 ↑5 16

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #17 ↓6 1 too low 17

WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19

Fatal Error Notify 6K+ · 4.8★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓3 8 too high 20

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓10 1 too high 21

Sentry for WordPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too high 22

Error Log Viewer by BestWebSoft 5K+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓4 6 too high 23

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓4 5 too high 24

BugSnag Error Monitoring plugin 2K+ · 3.7★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 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.