Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “gone”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 8K+ 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

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 816 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 H HTTP 410 (Gone) responses 4K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #1 2 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #3 4 Spam Destroyer 5K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 404 Solution 10K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Gone Response 300+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #17 ↑4 9 too low 9 A authLdap 4K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #14 ↑4 4 too low 11 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 No Gutenberg? – Choose Where to Use the Block Editor or the Classic Editor 9K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #19 ↓5 5 too low 15 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Simple Revisions Delete 10K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #24 ↓4 8 too low 17 NS Remove Related Products for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18 Dashboard Cleaner 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 GlotPress 500+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 Spam Protect for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints 8K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Ultimate 410 Gone Status Code 6K+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Post Lockdown 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Quform WPML 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.