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← Rankings

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

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 “ghost”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Input Masks for Elementor Forms shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 600+ 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

GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 683 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Weather Effect 4K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #15 ↓6 9 too low 7 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Admin Management Xtended 5K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Ghost 500+ · 3.6★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Leaky Paywall 600+ · 4.2★ (35) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 Menu Ghost 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 8 too high 14 Admin Bar Fix 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 WHA Puzzle 200+ · 3.4★ (8) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 SEO Connector for Ghost.blog 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 TryAura: AI Virtual Try-On, Product Visualization & Product Videos for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 Hagakure – Yet Another Error Reporter 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Moosend Website Connector 1K+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Ghost Comment Manager 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Mediaspy – Detect & Clean Unused Media 70+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Input Masks for Elementor Forms 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 Simple X Buttons – Share, Follow, Mention & Hashtag for WordPress 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.