Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “interval”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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.

Ranked above its merit

Update Intervals shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10+ 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

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 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 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #9 ↑13 2 too low 8 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Force Refresh 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 ↓3 11 too low 13 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #19 ↑2 5 too low 15 Dynamic Front-End Heartbeat Control 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Bulk Media Register 8K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Disable Gutenberg Autosave 2K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 E Error Log Monitor 20K+ · 4.3★ (48) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Bulk Datetime Change 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20 Mail Queue 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #21 ↓8 22 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Update Intervals 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Auto Update Post Date 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.