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

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 composer”, 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

TwentyTwenty Compare shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Perfect Brands for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 414 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 signals wp.org

Live Composer – Free WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.4★ (212) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 4

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) not PHP-current wp.org #6 1 too high 8

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10

Perfect Brands for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.7★ (414) wp.org #16 6 too low 11

QR Code Composer – Automatic QR code generation 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #2 9 too high 12

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #20 ↑1 7 too low 14

Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #15 1 too low 15

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16

Merge + Minify + Refresh 3K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17

Bold Page Builder 40K+ · 3.6★ (66) wp.org #18 1 too low 18

WPGlobus 8K+ · 4.5★ (228) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 6 too low 19

JS Job Manager 100+ · 3.6★ (28) not PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20

MaxSlider 6K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21

TwentyTwenty Compare 90+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑1 11 too high 22

Futurio Extra 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #17 5 too high 23

Wawp Country Code & Chat Widget for WooCommerce 400+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 24

PDF Flipbook, WPBakery Addon – Unreal FlipBook 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #14 10 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.