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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “gravatar cache”

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 “gravatar cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Cache by Folium shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

a3 Lazy Load places #12 on merit, 4.3★ from 148 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #2 3 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too low 10 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 FV Gravatar Cache 600+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 a3 Lazy Load 80K+ · 4.3★ (148) wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14 Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Lazy Load for Comments 2K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Cache by Folium 100+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Yasakani Cache 20+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too high 21 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 OGEEAT 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 MembershipWorks Login Connector 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 F Fix Gravatar Alt Text & Title Tag 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.