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

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 “localstorage”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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 Peel shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

JWT Authentication for WP REST API places #7 on merit, 4.4★ from 53 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 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Ele Conditions for Elementor 2K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 My Favorites 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 ATR Cookie Notice 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Real Accessibility: Accessibility Widget & Toolbar 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 FormsCRM – Connect Forms to CRM directly 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 MaxtDesign Cookie Consent – Google Consent Mode v2 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 11 Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 AdX Ad Inserter – Adsense and Ad Manager Ads 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Awesome Guten Text – 8 Powerful Blocks for Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 TrackSure Cloud – Server-Side Tracking, Meta CAPI & GA4 for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↑2 6 too low 16 VW Floating Chat 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 ConsentOwl — Cookie Consent & Tracker Blocker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 OffCanvas / Drawer – add sleek slide-in panels to any page 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 EDigital Accessibility Tools and Statement 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 PLX Lead Attribution 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 CookieFirst | GDPR Cookie Consent Banner 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Page Peel 60+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 kombat-optimizer 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 WPGraphQL IDE 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.