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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fatal errors”

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 “fatal errors”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Disable Fatal Error Handler shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 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 Fatal Error Notify 6K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #1 2 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 E Error Log Monitor 20K+ · 4.3★ (48) wp.org #5 6 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 #12 6 too low 7 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #20 ↓1 12 too low 9 Payment Gateway for Redsys & WooCommerce Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (87) wp.org #9 10 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Fatal Plugin Auto Deactivator – Never let a plugin break your site 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 11 too high 14 Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting Conflicts 5K+ · 4.0★ (49) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Advanced Cron Manager – debug & control 30K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Include Klaviyo for Elementor pro 2K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Error Log Viewer by BestWebSoft 5K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Disable Fatal Error Handler 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Hagakure – Yet Another Error Reporter 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 FatalGuard – PHP Error Log Viewer, Debug Log & Fatal Error Alerts 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Custom Recovery Mode Email 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 SitePulse – Performance Monitor, Safe Updates & Site Management 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.