Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mail.ru”

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 “mail.ru”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Floating Share Button shows at wp.org #13 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic places #6 on merit, 4.4★ from 1053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Zen Feed 400+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #2 3 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #3 4 Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) wp.org #4 5 Social Login 4K+ · 4.3★ (366) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ · 4.4★ (1053) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 ShareToSocial – Social Media Share Buttons & Sharing Icons 100+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 WiraKit For Elementor – Powerful Elementor Widgets And Theme Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 EMP Song Selector Tool for Mobile DJs 10+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Monster Пульс 60+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 WP-WebRTC2 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 DevBrothers SMTP — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Visitrix – Lightweight Visitor Analytics 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Nymbl Cookie Sentinel 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 LiteWebSynth — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 SocialAll – Social Login 10+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #17 18 FormGhost — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Floating Share Button 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 LoudVoice Comments Plugin – Supercharge your WordPress comments 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Bravo WP security Plugin 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 S Simple social buttons — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 JL Like Pro 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 C Cackle Social Login 10+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #24

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.