Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “hostname”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Htaccess by BestWebSoft – WordPress Website Access Control Plugin shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Server Health Stats places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 110 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 D Disable Emojis (GDPR friendly) 60K+ · 5.0★ (108) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 WP-Ban 8K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Piraeus Bank WooCommerce Payment Gateway 3K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Limit Attempts by BestWebSoft – WordPress Anti-Bot and Security Plugin for Login and Forms 4K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #9 ↑6 3 too low 7 Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too low 8 Server Info – System Health & Diagnostics Suite 3K+ · 3.8★ (12) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #23 ↑1 14 too low 10 Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too low 12 WP-ServerInfo 10K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 L Log HTTP Requests 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 GR Widget – Google Reviews Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Garden Gnome Package 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 Simple Matomo Tracking Code 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17 Virusdie | One-click website security 2K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 IP Geolocation 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too high 20 Auto Ping Booster 900+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Fail2WP 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑3 4 too high 22 Ressources 60+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #22 23 Htaccess by BestWebSoft – WordPress Website Access Control Plugin 400+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 EDH Bad Bots 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 10 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.