wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mobile friendly”
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 friendly”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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
WPtouch – Make your WordPress Website Mobile-Friendly shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 341 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 #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256)
wp.org #1 2 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 
Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↑2 10 
Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574)
wp.org #13 ↓11 3 too low 11 
MOBILOOK — Mobile View & Mobile‑Friendly Test 1K+ · 4.9★ (27) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↑3 6 too high 12 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #18 ↑5 6 too low 13 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #12 ↑5 1 too high 14 
WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #17 2 too low 16 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 WPtouch – Make your WordPress Website Mobile-Friendly 40K+ · 3.7★ (341) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓2 10 too high 19 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓3 4 too low 21 
Make Tables Responsive 6K+ · 5.0★ (34)
wp.org #21 ↓2 22 
Modern Footnotes 6K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 
YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #23 ↓7 24 
Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #14 10 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.