Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “info banner”

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 “info banner”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

Homepage Helden Contact Info shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ 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

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #1 2 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Random Banner 1K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #6 7 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #17 ↑4 9 too low 9 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #21 ↓1 9 too low 13 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #24 ↓2 10 too low 15 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Announcement & Notification Banner – Bulletin 2K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 GDPR CCPA Compliance & Cookie Consent Banner 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 Axeptio – Cookie Banner – GDPR Consent & Compliance with a friendly touch 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 Homepage Helden Contact Info 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 RS Author Info Box 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Classic Addons – WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Full Width Banner Slider Wp 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.