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

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 “fastcgi”, we agree with wp.org 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

OPcache Reset shows at wp.org #4 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer places #3 on merit, 4.6★ from 405 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Nginx Helper 200K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #1 2 Nginx Cache 10K+ · 4.6★ (23) wp.org #2 3 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 70K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Warmer – Cache Warmer and Cache Preload Crawler 80+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Cleavr Clear Cache 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 OPcache Reset 500+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 FastCGI Cache for Ploi 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Malcure Security Suite 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Cache control by Cacholong 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 M Maintenance mode by Juraj Hamara 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Jabali Cache 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 Naibabiji Cache Purger for EdgeOne 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 ABCode Cache Warmer 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 AI Agent Analytics by Salespeak 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 FlynCache Purge — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Reqad Cache Purger for Nginx — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 N Novellaire Connect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Zen MCP Bridge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Oh My Cache! — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 FalcoSearch – Live Search & Product Filter for WooCommerce — · 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.