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

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 plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 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

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 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 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #2 3 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #3 4 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #4 5 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #5 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #7 ↑4 8 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #15 ↓9 6 too low 10 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #20 ↓3 8 too low 13 Definitely allow mobile zooming 7K+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #17 ↑4 3 too low 15 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Specific Content For Mobile – Customize the mobile version without redirections 4K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 SlickNav Mobile Menu 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Mobile Detect 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 ↑2 11 too high 22 WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Mobile Contact Line 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 Mobile Call Buttons 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.