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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “merge scripts”

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 “merge scripts”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 300+ 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

Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 67 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Merge + Minify + Refresh 3K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #5 6 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too low 11 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #17 ↑5 6 too low 12 Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 Swift Performance Lite 6K+ · 3.6★ (125) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 FlexTable – Data Table Sync with Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #19 ↑5 5 too low 15 Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 Cookiez – GDPR & CCPA Cookie Banner & Consent Manager 50K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Simple Google Calendar Outlook Events Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Barion Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 AEH Speed Optimization: Browser Cache, Optimized Minify, Lazy Loading & Image Optimization 2K+ · 3.2★ (20) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 LC Scripts Optimizer 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Kliken: Ads + Pixel for Meta 30K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.