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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “htaccess editor”

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 “htaccess editor”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Easy Digital Downloads – htaccess Editor shows at wp.org #3 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102) wp.org #1 2 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 ↑3 2 too low 3 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too low 5 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #14 ↑5 7 too low 8 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 SEO Redirection Plugin – 301 Redirect Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (73) wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too low 16 Htaccess File Editor – Easily Edit, Backup, Restore .htaccess file 6K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 14 too high 17 Media Sync 50K+ · 4.7★ (86) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #5 ↑1 14 too high 20 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Easy Digital Downloads – htaccess Editor 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 18 too high 22 MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 Disable CSS JS Cache 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too high 24 ska-blocks – TailwindCSS for Block Editor 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.