wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “italian”
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 “italian”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
PDF Invoices Italian Add-on for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463)
wp.org #13 6 too low 8 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199)
wp.org #10 ↑11 2 too low 9 
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #17 ↑5 6 too low 12 
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 
Reveal IDs 40K+ · 5.0★ (61)
wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14 
WP Sitemap Page 200K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #15 ↓4 1 too low 15 
LocoAI – Auto Translate for Loco Translate 70K+ · 4.9★ (642)
wp.org #21 ↑2 6 too low 16 
Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106)
wp.org #16 ↓3 17 
File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Campi Moduli Italiani 400+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #4 14 too high 19 
Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95)
wp.org #19 ↓3 20 
Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99)
wp.org #23 ↓5 3 too low 21 
WP Attachments – Smarter File Management & Download Lists 3K+ · 4.5★ (43)
wp.org #24 ↓7 3 too low 22 CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 16 too high 23 
Better Plugin Compatibility Control 4K+ · 4.3★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓5 3 too high 24 
Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓4 6 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.