wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “last modified”

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 “last modified”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Lock Last Modified Date shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 80+ 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

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Last Modified Info 40K+ · 4.9★ (855) wp.org #1 2

Last Modified Timestamp 6K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #2 3

Show modified Date in admin lists 6K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #3 4

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #8 4 too low 5

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #12 7 too low 6

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Advanced Queries 10K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too low 8

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too low 9

Reusable Blocks Extended 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10

Change Last Modified Date 3K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #4 6 too high 11

List Last Changes 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #6 5 too high 12 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13

Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #20 ↓4 7 too low 14

More Sorting Options for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17

CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Lock Last Modified Date 80+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 14 too high 20

Freshtag – Last Modified Info & Timestamp, Detect Old Content, Boost SEO 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21

Organizers Embed – Action Network for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22

XML Sitemaps Manager 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23

Manage/Remove version number from CSS & JS 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 4 too high 24

Product List / Grid View for Woocommerce 300+ · 3.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews 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.