wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “loading page”
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 “loading page”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Page Optimize shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #3 4 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 ↑3 6 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #12 ↑9 6 too low 7 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 
Speculative Loading 70K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #4 4 too high 9 
CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365)
wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 
Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79)
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 
Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48)
wp.org #15 ↓1 16 
Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126)
wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 
Bold Page Builder 40K+ · 3.6★ (66)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 
Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #7 11 too high 19 
Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 
Page View Count 10K+ · 4.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 4 too high 21 
Export Single Post Page 3K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 15 too high 24 
WP Page Loading 700+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓2 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.