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

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

General Slider shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 30+ 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

Relevanssi – A Better Search places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 406 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #3 4

ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #9 ↑3 4 too low 6

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8

Shariff Wrapper 30K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9

WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 1 too high 10

GDPR 10K+ · 4.3★ (58) wp.org #10 ↓1 11

GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #5 ↑2 7 too high 13

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #13 ↑1 14

Local Google Fonts 100K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 4 too low 16

EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 3 too low 19

General Slider 30+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #4 15 too high 20

WP OPcache 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 U Update Control 4K+ · 4.4★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22

WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too high 23 G Google Tag Manager 10K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24

Make Disable Admin Email Verification Prompt 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 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.