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

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 first”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Mobile Smart App Banner shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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 wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5 Definitely allow mobile zooming 7K+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #11 ↑8 5 too low 7 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #9 10 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too low 11 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #19 ↑2 8 too low 12 Specific Content For Mobile – Customize the mobile version without redirections 4K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too low 14 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #21 ↓3 6 too low 16 SlickNav Mobile Menu 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 OTP Login & Register Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (44) wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19 Conditional Display for Mobile – Mobile Detect Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Sticky Mobile Buttons 50+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓3 3 too high 22 Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 Mobile App Canvas – Convert your Website Into an App for iOS and Android 200+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓5 1 too high 24 Toast Mobile Menu – Fast & Lightweight Responsive Navigation 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓4 4 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.