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

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 only”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Mobile Detect shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 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 #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. 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 2 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #2 3 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #3 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #9 ↓5 4 too low 6 Definitely allow mobile zooming 7K+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Specific Content For Mobile – Customize the mobile version without redirections 4K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #23 ↓2 12 too low 12 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #19 ↓5 7 too low 13 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 SlickNav Mobile Menu 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Mobile Detect 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 ↑1 10 too high 16 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 too low 17 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Mobile Call Now & Map Buttons 4K+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Mobile Contact Line 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Conditional Display for Mobile – Mobile Detect Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Mobile Banner 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Order on Mobile for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 Bangladeshi Payments Mobile – MFS Gateway, QR Code, Advance COD Protection, Thermal POS Invoicing & WhatsApp Suite 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.