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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “javascript error”

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 error”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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 #6 but places #19 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

LiteSpeed Cache places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #1 2 Smart Custom 404 Error Page 100K+ · 4.9★ (1197) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Sentry for WordPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #12 ↑3 3 too low 10 API KEY for Google Maps 30K+ · 4.9★ (55) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #17 ↑3 5 too low 13 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #13 ↓5 1 too high 15 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too low 16 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 Page Speed Optimizer: HTTP/2 Push, Async JavaScript, and Defer CSS 6K+ · 4.7★ (64) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 Speed Up – JavaScript To Footer 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 Add Custom Codes – Insert Header, Footer, Custom PHP Snippets, CSS, Javascript 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 JavaScript Obfuscator 60+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 JS Error Logger 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.