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

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 “header”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

Header Footer Builder for Elementor shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1199 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 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 2 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #2 3 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #3 4 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #4 5 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #8 ↑7 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #19 ↓6 9 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #16 ↑5 5 too low 12 Header and Footer Scripts 200K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 U Unique Headers 10K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #15 ↑3 1 too low 15 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #18 ↓6 2 too low 17 W WP Display Header 7K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735) wp.org #22 ↓5 4 too low 19 Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 ↓1 13 too high 20 WP Header Images 4K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Far Future Expiry Header 6K+ · 3.2★ (31) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Sticky Header 2020 600+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Security Header Generator 400+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.