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

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 “hummingbird”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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

Clear Cache Everywhere shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ 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

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 339 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #2 3 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #3 4 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #10 ↑4 2 too low 9 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #22 ↑2 11 too low 12 Prevent Browser Caching 10K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Popup Builder by Claspo – Email Popup, Spin the Wheel, Exit Intent 1K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too low 15 Reduce Unused CSS Solution with Critical CSS For WP 1K+ · 3.8★ (13) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard 20K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 18 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Advanced GeoIP Redirect 900+ · 3.6★ (11) wp.org #15 ↑5 4 too high 20 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 Fresh Forms for Gravity 3K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Logo Slider – Infinite Carousel & Marquee Block 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Superb Helper 8K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.