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

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 “mobile”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Mobile Detect shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14380 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #1 ↑16 2 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1317) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7314) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4825) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Responsive Menu – Create Mobile-Friendly Menu 70K+ · 4.5★ (573) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 Definitely allow mobile zooming 7K+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14380) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 Specific Content For Mobile – Customize the mobile version without redirections 4K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #15 ↓4 4 too low 12 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2775) wp.org #21 ↑2 9 too low 13 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #13 14 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #18 ↓8 4 too low 15 SlickNav Mobile Menu 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Mobile Detect 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17 MOBILOOK — Mobile View & Mobile‑Friendly Test 1K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 Offcanvas Mobile Menu 800+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Mobile Call Now & Map Buttons 4K+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Mobile Contact Line 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Order on Mobile for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Mobile Call Buttons 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.