wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “javascript”
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 “javascript”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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
Speed Up – JavaScript To Footer shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 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.
CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #1 2 
Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488)
wp.org #5 ↑7 3 too low 3 
Flying Scripts: Delay JavaScript to Improve Site Speed & Performance 30K+ · 5.0★ (38)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
360 Javascript Viewer 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #8 ↑16 2 too low 7 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #13 ↓7 4 too low 10 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #14 ↓7 4 too low 11 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓8 1 too high 12 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #22 10 too low 13 
WP Super Minify • Minify, Compress and Cache HTML, CSS & JavaScript 8K+ · 4.1★ (73)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
Page Speed Optimizer: HTTP/2 Push, Async JavaScript, and Defer CSS 6K+ · 4.7★ (64)
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Speed Up – JavaScript To Footer 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↑1 13 too high 18 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #18 ↓3 19 
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162)
wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 
BerqWP – All-In-One Optimization for Core Web Vitals, Cache, CDN, Images, CSS & JavaScript 4K+ · 4.3★ (54)
wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 
CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS 1K+ · 4.8★ (90) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 
Add Custom Codes – Insert Header, Footer, Custom PHP Snippets, CSS, Javascript 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 J JavaScript Notifier 40+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 
JavaScript Obfuscator 60+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓2 5 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.