Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “favicons”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Favicon Extender shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ 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

Coming soon and Maintenance mode places #10 on merit, 4.2★ from 83 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #1 2 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 F Favicon Rotator 20K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Custom Favicon – Easily Add a Favicon in WordPress 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Domain Mapping System | Create Microsites with Multiple Alias Domains (multisite optional) 2K+ · 4.5★ (56) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 WP Favicon Remover 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Coming soon and Maintenance mode 8K+ · 4.2★ (83) wp.org #21 ↑1 11 too low 11 WP-Memory-Usage 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Site Favicon 5K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 14 Each domain a page 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Contextual Adminbar Color 500+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Multicons 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Lite Maintenance Mode 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18 Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 Forma Favicon 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20 Favicon Extender 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 SU Blocks – Blogcard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 F4 Simple White Label 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Unused Media Checker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Simple Link Embed 40+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.