Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “git”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel shows at wp.org #14 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

List category posts places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 254 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too low 2 Deployer for Git 600+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Video Conferencing with Zoom 10K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too low 5 Git it Write – Write posts from GitHub 100+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Gitium 400+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 M Multi Device Switcher 10K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Advanced Views – Display Framework – Gutenberg/Elementor/Shortcode 2K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #7 ↑2 4 too high 12 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #12 ↑5 1 too high 14 Waymark 900+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #17 ↓10 3 too low 15 InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 KaTeX 2K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 CodeColorer 1K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Kudos Donations: Easy Donations with Mollie | One-off & Recurring | PDF Receipts | Buttons & Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 L Local Development 90+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Subtle Icons – SVG Icon Block Suite, Icon Picker & ACF Field 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 Database Access with Adminer 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too high 23 Simplify Admin Menus 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 RoleMaster Suite – User Role Editor for E-Commerce, Membership & Admin Panel 700+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 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.