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

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 “less”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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.

L

Ranked above its merit

Lessify WordPress shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rich Showcase for Google Reviews places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #3 ↑11 1 too low 3 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #2 ↑8 1 too high 4 Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106) wp.org #6 ↓4 2 too low 5 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too low 7 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #11 ↑4 4 too low 8 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #12 ↓3 4 too low 9 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #13 ↓10 2 too low 12 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #15 ↓9 3 too low 13 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14 Read More Without Refresh 20K+ · 4.2★ (55) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #23 ↓4 6 too low 18 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Ajax add to cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #22 ↓6 3 too low 20 Min Max Quantities – Set Minimum/Maximum Quantity & Price Limits with Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 L Lessify WordPress 300+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 WP-ShowHide 9K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #20 ↑3 2 too high 23 Easy Custom Code (LESS/CSS/JS) – Live editing 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #21 ↑3 3 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.