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

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 library”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Media Library Downloader shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #1 2 Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (297) wp.org #2 3 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Media Library Folders 10K+ · 4.3★ (465) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Media Library Organizer – Folders, File Manager & Media Categories 20K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too high 12 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 360 Javascript Viewer 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 Media Library Downloader 5K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #7 ↑1 12 too high 20 WP Super Minify • Minify, Compress and Cache HTML, CSS & JavaScript 8K+ · 4.1★ (73) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 Bubuku Media Library 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Library Management System 200+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Customify 10K+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #22 ↓2 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.