wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “featured page”
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 “featured page”, 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
Really Simple Featured Video for Posts, Pages & WooCommerce Products shows at wp.org #7 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 34 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #2 3 
Default Featured Image 50K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #3 4 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89)
wp.org #4 5 
Quick Featured Images 50K+ · 4.7★ (235)
wp.org #5 6 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 7 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #13 6 too low 8 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ · 4.7★ (40)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 
Conditionally display featured image on singular posts and pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (38)
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113)
wp.org #12 13 Really Simple Featured Video for Posts, Pages & WooCommerce Products 4K+ · 4.0★ (34)
wp.org #7 6 too high 14 N NS Featured Posts 4K+ · 4.8★ (29)
wp.org #10 4 too high 15 
Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
Automatic Featured Images from Videos 7K+ · 4.6★ (36)
wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too low 17 
Add Featured Image Column 3K+ · 4.9★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #15 2 too high 18 
Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) not PHP-current
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Featured Image with URL 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 
Featured Image Column 2K+ · 4.5★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 
Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
WEN Featured Image 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 
Featured Video for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
Preload Featured Images 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.