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

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 “missing”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Add Missing Link Titles shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #7 5 too low 3

Missing Menu Items 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #1 2 too high 4

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too low 5

Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7

WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Redirect 404 to Homepage 60K+ · 4.6★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #6 2 too high 9

FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) not PHP-current wp.org #13 4 too low 10

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #12 ↑7 2 too low 11

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 12

WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags 4K+ · 4.6★ (306) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13

Complianz – Terms and Conditions 300K+ · 4.9★ (187) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #21 7 too low 15

Image Alt Text 10K+ · 5.0★ (56) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16

API KEY for Google Maps 30K+ · 4.9★ (55) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17

GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #17 18

Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21

Detect Missing Adblocker 50+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↓1 16 too high 22

Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) not PHP-current wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Add Missing Link Titles 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #3 20 too high 24

WPZOOM Addons for Beaver Builder 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.