wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “highlighting”
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 “highlighting”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 3 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
PrettyCode • Code syntax highlighting with CodeMirror shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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.
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #2 ↑3 1 too low 2 
Highlighting Code Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Syntax-highlighting Code Block (with Server-side Rendering) 1K+ · 5.0★ (26)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter 60K+ · 4.4★ (110)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #19 ↑2 9 too low 11 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #12 ↓1 13 
Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter 10K+ · 4.8★ (65)
wp.org #13 ↓1 14 
File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155)
wp.org #17 ↑7 3 too low 15 
Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓4 1 too high 16 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #23 ↓8 7 too low 17 
Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too low 18 
WP Editor 20K+ · 4.5★ (95)
wp.org #22 ↓6 4 too low 19 
Highlight Search Terms 6K+ · 5.0★ (40)
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 
Post/Page Specific Custom Code 6K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 
Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 
Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓3 6 too high 23 
Code Prettify 1K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 PrettyCode • Code syntax highlighting with CodeMirror 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓2 13 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.