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

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 “forwarding”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

DevDome Redirect Manager: Link Rotator, Geo Redirect & 302 Redirect shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ 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

BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 85 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #1 2

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) not PHP-current wp.org #5 1 too low 5

URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #9 4 too low 6

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #11 5 too low 7

CallPage – Callback Widget 1K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9

Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10

Content Mask 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 6 too high 11

WP-Ban 8K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12

LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 400+ · 5.0★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Simple Website Redirect 5K+ · 4.6★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14

SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15

ShortLinks Pro – Affiliate Links, Link Shortening, Click Tracking & Marketing 100+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too low 16

WP-EMail 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too high 17

HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot & Knowledge Base for Customer Service 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19

DevDome Redirect Manager: Link Rotator, Geo Redirect & 302 Redirect 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #6 13 too high 20

Parcel Forwarding & Package Consolidation for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too high 21

Multi CryptoCurrency Payments 300+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22

UserCheck 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23

Post Forwarder 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too high 24

SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓2

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.