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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “js”

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 “js”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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 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

Disable CSS JS Cache shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

EWWW Image Optimizer places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1842 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #3 4 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #4 5 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too high 7 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS 1K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too high 10 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #17 ↓8 7 too low 11 JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System 7K+ · 3.7★ (74) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too high 12 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #21 ↑3 8 too low 14 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too low 15 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #22 ↓4 7 too low 16 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too high 18 C Clear Cache for Me 40K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #19 ↓3 20 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #20 ↓3 21 Disable CSS JS Cache 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 C CSS JS Files 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Easy p5.js Block 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 Manage/Remove version number from CSS & JS 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 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.