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

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 “execution”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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.

P

Ranked above its merit

Page Optimize shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 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 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 Flying Scripts: Delay JavaScript to Improve Site Speed & Performance 30K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #18 ↓2 10 too low 9 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #14 ↑5 5 too low 10 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #10 ↑5 11 Advanced Cron Manager – debug & control 30K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #13 14 Hosting Benchmark tool 4K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #17 ↓4 3 too low 15 WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 WPTerm 4K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 WPSpeed – WordPress Speed, Cache & Performance Optimization (Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed 100) 2K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 Calculate Page Execution Time 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓5 23 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 14 too high 24 Web Worker Offloading 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.