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← Rankings

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

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 tags”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

WP Header Images shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

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 #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Header and Footer Scripts 200K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 U Unique Headers 10K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 WP Header Images 4K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Header Footer Script Adder 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #20 21 A Add Custom Header Images 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #21 22 Fixed And Sticky Header 1K+ · 3.3★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24 Add LinkedIn Insight Tag for LinkedIn Ads 4K+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓4 1 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.