wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “html head”
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 “html head”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.
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
Analytics Head shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 600+ 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
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51)
wp.org #1 2 
Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too low 7 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 
Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339)
wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑7 8 too low 10 
Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #19 ↓3 8 too low 12 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #18 5 too low 14 
Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 15 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too low 16 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 
Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36)
wp.org #12 ↑3 5 too high 18 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓4 3 too low 19 
Add Code To Head 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #3 16 too high 20 
HTML Page Publisher 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Analytics Head 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #4 17 too high 22 
SMNTCS Google Webmaster Tools 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 W WP Site Verification tool 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 
AI Scrape Protect 400+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓3 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.