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← Rankings

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

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 “memcache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

WP Spider Cache shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Server Health Stats places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 110 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Object Cache 4 everyone 5K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #1 2 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Sokol: Smart WooCommerce Search 5K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #3 4 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #10 ↓3 6 too low 5 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 WP-ServerInfo 10K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Cache Master 400+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Simple Cache 1K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Send Emails with Mandrill 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 M Memcached Object Cache 10+ · 3.8★ (28) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 M Memcached Redux 100+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Pods Alternative Cache 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 MyClub Groups 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 ObjectNest Cache 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 MyClub Sections — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 WP Spider Cache 10+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑9 13 too high 21 Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Social Photo Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 eHive Access 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 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.