Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “experimentation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Wavesy AI Summary Links shows at wp.org #11 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 5 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

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Wingify 4K+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 weForms – Easy Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder For WordPress 10K+ · 4.5★ (111) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #17 ↑1 13 too low 5 NewsmanApp 500+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #20 14 too low 7 Zoho PageSense for WordPress 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 Churn Solution – Cancellation Flows, Save Offers and Failed Payment Recovery for WooCommerce and Paid Memberships Pro — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Accelerate 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Mida A/B Testing 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Conversion Agent Discovery 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Quick Playground 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Analytics Integration for PostHog, WP, & WC 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 CROLabs – AI Conversion Rate Optimization, A/B Testing & Personalization — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Preta — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Wavesy AI Summary Links — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 Nofliq Server-Side A/B Testing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Push MD – Git Sync for WordPress Content — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Sigmize: A/B Testing, Session Recordings, Heatmaps & Revenue Tracking for WooCommerce, SureCart & EDD 5K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Path Pilot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 L LLMAffiliate AI Traffic Monetizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 TypeFlow Font Loader for Google Fonts — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 RevLifter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Webyn 10+ · 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.