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

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 check”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Anti-Spam by CleanTalk – Spam Protection Without CAPTCHA places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 3217 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #1 2

AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1317) heavy footprint wp.org #2 3

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4825) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #4 ↓1 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5018) heavy footprint wp.org #8 3 too low 6

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14380) wp.org #12 6 too low 7

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2458) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Responsive Menu – Create Mobile-Friendly Menu 70K+ · 4.5★ (573) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4958) wp.org #14 5 too low 10

Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #6 4 too high 11

Anti-Spam by CleanTalk – Spam Protection Without CAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (3217) wp.org #19 8 too low 12

WP24 Domain Check 4K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #7 5 too high 13

Specific Content For Mobile – Customize the mobile version without redirections 4K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #9 4 too high 14

Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.7★ (2407) wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2775) wp.org #22 ↑2 7 too low 16

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17

Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18

Mobile Detect 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #5 13 too high 19

FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (992) not PHP-current wp.org #24 5 too low 20

MOBILOOK — Mobile View & Mobile‑Friendly Test 1K+ · 4.9★ (27) not PHP-current wp.org #18 2 too high 21

Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #13 8 too high 22

UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23

Mobile App Canvas – Convert your Website Into an App for iOS and Android 200+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 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.