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

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 “installer”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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.

O

Ranked above its merit

Onsite Optimizer Installer shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ 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

Webyx for Gutenberg – Fullpage Fullscreen Scrolling Websites places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 53 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 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #1 2 SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects 9K+ · 4.9★ (665) wp.org #2 3 Perfect Brands for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.7★ (414) wp.org #3 4 Related Posts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (325) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #6 7 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (12) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Webyx for Gutenberg – Fullpage Fullscreen Scrolling Websites 600+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #21 ↑1 12 too low 10 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Media Slider for Photos Images Videos 2K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 EZ Downloader – Plugin & Theme 90+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 IndieWeb 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑2 14 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 O Onsite Optimizer Installer 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 Easy Demo Importer – A Modern One-Click Demo Import Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 ZenCommunity – Community, Forum, Social Network, Chat & Support Tickets 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Cookiez – GDPR & CCPA Cookie Banner & Consent Manager 50K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 TikTok 200K+ · 1.8★ (39) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Nota Backup & Restore – WordPress Backup, Migration & Clone 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Enable Drag and Drop on Adding Plugin Upload 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Skittybop 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑5 10 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.