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← Rankings

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

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 “labeling”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WP ADA Compliance Check Basic shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (Passkey, OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 385 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #3 4 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #4 5 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #5 6 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Search in Place 3K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Quiz Maker, Poll Maker & Survey Maker by Opinion Stage 6K+ · 4.4★ (277) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (163) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (Passkey, OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Friendly Captcha for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (18) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 Interactive Image Map Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 XCompliant – Accessibility Scan & Audit 200+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 WP ADA Compliance Check Basic 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓1 11 too high 21 Juicer.io: Effortlessly embed, curate, and aggregate social media feeds into your website 8K+ · 4.2★ (29) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 WPC Badge Management for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Enfants IMG Performer 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑5 4 too high 24 LeadSource – UTM Tracking & Lead Source Attribution for Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.