Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “footer javascript”

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 “footer javascript”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Speed Up – JavaScript To Footer shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #3 4 CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 5 Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735) wp.org #5 6 Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Header and Footer Scripts 200K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #7 8 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #17 ↑1 8 too low 10 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 AddFunc Head & Footer Code 20K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Speed Up – JavaScript To Footer 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 S Scripts To Footer 7K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Header Footer Script Adder 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Insert Headers and Footers Code – HT Script 7K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 20 Add Custom Codes – Insert Header, Footer, Custom PHP Snippets, CSS, Javascript 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 J JavaScript Notifier 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Header Footer Custom Html 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 NinjaTeam Header Footer Custom Code 200+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.