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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “jquery cdn”

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 “jquery cdn”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

SmartVideo – Video Player and CDN shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 19 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simply Static – The Static Site Generator places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 195 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 J jQuery Updater 20K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3 Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #3 4 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Image Optimizer, Resizer and CDN – Sirv 900+ · 4.9★ (265) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 ShortPixel Adaptive Images – WebP, AVIF, CDN, Image Optimization 10K+ · 4.8★ (145) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 reSmush.it : The original free image compressor and optimizer plugin 100K+ · 4.3★ (166) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Version Control for jQuery 5K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 SmartVideo – Video Player and CDN 1K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 ImageEngine – Optimize the Images on Your WordPress Site Like No Other Plugin 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 6K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 StaticDelivr: Free CDN, Image Optimization & Speed 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 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.