Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “length”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 5 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

Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #1 2 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101) wp.org #2 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #3 4 I Insert Pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #4 5 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #8 ↑5 3 too low 6 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Easy Auto SKU Generator for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (272) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #13 ↑5 5 too low 9 Jquery Validation For Contact Form 7 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #15 ↓6 5 too low 11 Bulky – Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Advanced Free Shipping for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.8★ (122) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 WP Blog Post Layouts 9K+ · 4.7★ (83) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #11 ↓6 4 too high 16 WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #16 ↓8 17 Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (56) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #20 ↓6 1 too high 22 Read More Excerpt Link 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too high 23 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑4 17 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.