wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “load html”

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 “load html”, 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

HTML Page Publisher shows at wp.org #16 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4229 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

a3 Lazy Load 80K+ · 4.3★ (148) wp.org #1 2

Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #2 3

Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #3 4

LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #4 5

Load More Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (275) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter 60K+ · 4.4★ (110) wp.org #6 2 too high 9

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #14 5 too low 10

Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #8 2 too high 11

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87) wp.org #11 1 too high 13

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #20 7 too low 14

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Lazy Load for Comments 2K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #12 4 too high 17

Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #10 7 too high 18

Flying Images: Optimize and Lazy Load Images for Faster Page Speed 2K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #13 5 too high 19

CSV to HTML 300+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20

Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #21 1 too low 21

Export WordPress Pages to Static HTML & PDF — Static Site Export 4K+ · 3.8★ (51) wp.org #22 1 too low 22

Load Combined Core Block Assets 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too high 23

Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes 400+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

HTML Page Publisher 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #16 8 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.