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

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 “gzip”, we and wp.org disagree 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 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

SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 30 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Performance Score Booster – Optimize Speed, Enable Cache & Page Preload places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 339 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 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #4 5 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #6 7 Cache Using Gzip 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 6 too high 8 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #9 ↑5 1 too low 9 WP Performance Score Booster – Optimize Speed, Enable Cache & Page Preload 10K+ · 4.6★ (339) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #10 ↑5 1 too high 12 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #20 ↑2 7 too low 14 Merge + Minify + Refresh 3K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #14 ↓3 15 WP-DBManager 50K+ · 4.4★ (95) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Comet Cache 20K+ · 4.4★ (108) wp.org #23 ↓3 6 too low 18 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Far Future Expiry Header 6K+ · 3.2★ (31) wp.org #12 ↓3 7 too high 20 Leverage Browser Caching 9K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 CookieFox – Cookie Notice 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Speed Up – Browser Caching 700+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24

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.