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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fast aws”

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 “fast aws”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Static Porter shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ 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

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 213 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 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 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 #3 4 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #4 5 Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 Ecwid by Lightspeed Ecommerce Shopping Cart 20K+ · 4.5★ (228) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 SureContact – Newsletters, Email Marketing, Automation, Revenue Tracking & CRM 10K+ · 4.8★ (21) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Icegram Mailer – Reliable Email Deliverability, No-Code SMTP Replacement & Email Logs for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Recapture for Easy Digital Downloads 500+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Buying Buddy IDX CRM – Real Estate MLS Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Static Porter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Easy IP Blocker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 Gumlet Video 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 IP Locator 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.