wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “german”
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 “german”, 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
eRecht24 Legal Texts shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 50K+ 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
Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 783 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.
Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496)
wp.org #1 2 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488)
wp.org #10 ↓6 4 too low 7 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too low 8 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783)
wp.org #17 ↓2 9 too low 9 
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 8 too low 12 
Analytics Germanized for Google Analytics (GDPR / DSGVO) 7K+ · 4.5★ (27)
wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Local Google Fonts 100K+ · 4.6★ (83)
wp.org #14 15 
Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too high 16 
Reveal IDs 40K+ · 5.0★ (61)
wp.org #16 ↓3 17 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18 
Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106)
wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 
Simple Yearly Archive 6K+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 
CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 16 too high 22 
Goolytics – Simple Google Analytics 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 
ImageMagick Engine 60K+ · 4.4★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24 eRecht24 Legal Texts 50K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑1 17 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.