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← Rankings

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

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

External files in Media Library shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 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 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #1 2 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #2 3 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #5 ↑4 2 too low 4 Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (297) wp.org #4 5 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Media Library Folders 10K+ · 4.3★ (465) wp.org #11 ↑6 12 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #19 ↓6 5 too low 15 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Media Library Organizer – Folders, File Manager & Media Categories 20K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #12 ↓5 5 too high 18 Media Library Categories 20K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too high 19 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 FileBird Document Library 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #13 ↑6 7 too high 21 Document Library Lite 4K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Media Library Downloader 5K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 External files in Media Library 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Media Library File Size 6K+ · 4.6★ (5) 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.