Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Team Member Block shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager places #9 on merit, 3.8★ from 162 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 NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar 30K+ · 4.8★ (228) wp.org #1 2 FOMO & Social Proof Notifications by TrustPulse – Best WordPress FOMO Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #2 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 WiserNotify – Social Proof & FOMO Notifications, WooCommerce Sales Popups, Reviews & Announcement Bar 900+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 ProveSource Social Proof 2K+ · 4.8★ (72) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #17 ↑6 9 too low 9 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162) wp.org #20 ↓10 11 too low 10 Notification Bar, Announcement and Cookie Notice WordPress Plugin – FooBar 3K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too high 11 Elite Notification – Sales Popup, Social Proof, FOMO Notification for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↑6 13 HollerBox — Fast & Effective Popups & Lead-Generation 2K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Promolayer – Popup Builder & Abandonment Preventer 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 ↑2 4 too high 15 Image Slider Block 4K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too low 16 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17 Nudgify Social Proof 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too low 18 Accordion Toggle 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Image Gallery Block 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 ↑2 6 too high 20 Countdown Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Flipbox 2K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 Team Member Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑8 8 too high 23 Infobox 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Parallax Slider Block 900+ · 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.