wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “freeze wordpress”

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 “freeze wordpress”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 339 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #1 2

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #2 3

Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #9 ↓4 5 too low 5

GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 ↑5 6

Total Upkeep – WordPress Backup Plugin plus Restore & Migrate by BoldGrid 40K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #16 9 too low 8

Optimus – WordPress Image Optimizer 30K+ · 4.2★ (69) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9

Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) not PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #17 7 too low 11

SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12

Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #12 13

ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

Content Freeze 200+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #3 11 too high 15

Podlove Podcast Publisher 3K+ · 4.3★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 4 too high 16

Assets manager, dequeue scripts, dequeue styles for WordPress 2K+ · 4.3★ (53) wp.org #20 4 too low 17

GSheetConnector – Elementor Forms Google Sheet Connector to Sync Submissions to Google Sheets 9K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18

TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑1 12 too high 19

FlexTable – Data Table Sync with Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too low 20

MyCryptoCheckout – Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 100+ altcoins for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.3★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21

Ultimate Multisite – WordPress Multisite SaaS & WaaS Platform 90+ · 5.0★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

GSheetConnector – Gravity Forms Google Sheets Connector – Real-Time Sync 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 23

HT Contact Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 8 too high 24

Freeze Shipping Alert and Global Hardiness Zones and Frost Data — · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 6 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.