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

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 “inspect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

PureDevs Any Meta Inspector shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 528 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 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too low 7 Toolkit for Polylang – Translation Inspector & Duplicate Content 10K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #5 ↑17 2 too high 8 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #13 ↓5 5 too low 9 R Rewrite Rules Inspector 10K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too high 10 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #17 ↑2 7 too low 11 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #22 ↓8 10 too low 13 Loggedin – Session Manager, Limit Concurrent Logins & Force Logout 8K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Create Block Theme 20K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #20 ↓3 5 too low 16 G GenTime: Inspect page generation time 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 Variable Inspector 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↑5 5 too high 18 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 Server Info – System Health & Diagnostics Suite 3K+ · 3.8★ (12) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 Inspect HTTP Requests 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓5 10 too high 21 BitFire Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner, Bot Blocker, Login Protection 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 ↑2 3 too low 22 PureDevs Any Meta Inspector 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 Disable Global Style 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Inspect Gravity Forms 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 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.