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← Rankings

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

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 “information”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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.

B

Ranked above its merit

bbp profile information shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Widgets for Google Reviews places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 Cookie Information – Cookie Banner with Consent Mode v2 2K+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #1 10 too high 12 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #14 ↑3 2 too low 13 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #23 ↓9 8 too low 16 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Advanced Product Information for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓2 14 too high 20 B bbp buddypress profile information 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↑2 12 too high 21 B bbp profile information 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #6 ↓2 15 too high 22 Flamingo 800K+ · 4.2★ (121) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Website Information 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓2 14 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.