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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “insert html”

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 “insert html”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Kwayy HTML Sitemap shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #1 2 Insert Html Snippet 20K+ · 4.9★ (237) wp.org #2 3 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #3 4 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #7 ↑3 3 too low 5 I Insert Pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #6 7 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Wp-Insert 9K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything 100K+ · 4.9★ (227) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 Kwayy HTML Sitemap 6K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Insert Headers and Footers Code – HT Script 7K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Export WordPress Pages to Static HTML & PDF — Static Site Export 4K+ · 3.8★ (51) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Dynamic HTML Sitemap 60+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 22 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Remove layout destroying HTML-Tags 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview 10K+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #16 8 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.