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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “heartbeat control”

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 “heartbeat control”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Heartbeat Controller shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer places #12 on merit, 4.3★ from 109 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2772) wp.org #1 2 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (640) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (422) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1321) wp.org #4 5 Dynamic Front-End Heartbeat Control 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 too low 7 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #9 ↑8 2 too low 8 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Leverage Browser Caching 9K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Heartbeat Control 80K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Nexter Extension – Security, Performance, Code Snippets & Site Toolkit 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 600K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Templ Optimizer 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 ezCache 10K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Heartbeat Controller 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 JetHost Total Care – Security & Enhancements 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 MLSImport: IDX Plugin & MLS Plugin for Real Estate Listings 5K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 C Cloud Manufactory Heartbeat Control — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 PowerUp – Admin Tools (Login/Logout Redirects, Scripts & Comments Control) 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 Zamok – Security and Site Tools 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.