wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “head script”
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 “head script”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.
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
Analytics Head shows at wp.org #4 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 20 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
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51)
wp.org #1 2 
Head Meta Data 10K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #2 3 
AddFunc Head & Footer Code 20K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #3 4 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #8 4 too low 5 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #12 7 too low 6 
Header and Footer Scripts 200K+ · 4.6★ (58)
wp.org #6 7 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #14 6 too low 9 
Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #20 10 too low 11 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #17 6 too low 12 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 14 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 S Scripts To Footer 7K+ · 4.7★ (37)
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Header Footer Script Adder 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #7 13 too high 21 
Assets manager, dequeue scripts, dequeue styles for WordPress 2K+ · 4.3★ (53)
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 W wp_head() cleaner 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #11 11 too high 23 
Add Code To Head 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #5 18 too high 24 Analytics Head 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #4 20 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.