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

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 web”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Catch Web Tools shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #5 ↑4 1 too low 5 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #9 ↓5 3 too low 7 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #7 8 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #12 13 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too low 17 Catch Web Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 MOBILOOK — Mobile View & Mobile‑Friendly Test 1K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Podlove Web Player 4K+ · 3.7★ (14) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 SendPulse Free Web Push 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21 Conditional Display for Mobile – Mobile Detect Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 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.