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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “exception logging”

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

BugSnag Error Monitoring plugin shows at wp.org #4 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 3 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #3 4 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #20 ↓4 10 too low 11 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too high 12 Sentry for WordPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #12 ↑6 1 too high 14 BugSnag Error Monitoring plugin 2K+ · 3.7★ (9) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 E Error Log Monitor 20K+ · 4.3★ (48) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Swift Performance Lite 6K+ · 3.6★ (125) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 MailHawk — Simple SMTP, Email Delivery, and Email Logging 300+ · 3.4★ (10) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 C3 Cloudfront Cache Controller 3K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Solid Performance – Your No-Code Caching, Performance, & Page Speed Solution 4K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 Force login to make the site private – Gozer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.