wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “header message”
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 message”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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
Security Header Generator shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
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 #3 1 too low 3 
Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) not PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #11 ↑3 4 too low 8 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 U Unique Headers 10K+ · 4.9★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 3 too high 11 
Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #6 5 too high 12 
My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199)
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 
Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16 
FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too high 17 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53)
wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 
Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40)
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Security Header Generator 400+ · 4.9★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #8 12 too high 21 
Insert Headers and Footers Code – HT Script 7K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 A Add Custom Header Images 400+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #13 9 too high 23 
Search Engines Blocked in Header 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 
Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement 400+ · 4.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
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.