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← Rankings

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

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 “independent”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Broadstreet shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 700+ 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

BlogVault Backup & Staging places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 332 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #4 5 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #11 ↑4 5 too low 7 Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too low 10 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #13 ↑5 3 too low 11 Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 AWCA – The Great Analytics Insights for Your eStore 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 A authLdap 4K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Broadstreet 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑3 13 too high 19 Donation Thermometer 2K+ · 4.4★ (12) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too high 20 Kustom Checkout for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.5★ (15) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Raptive Ads 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22 noindex SEO 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Independent Analytics for MainWP 700+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 Faire for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #20 4 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.