wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “modern”
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 “modern”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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
Easy Demo Importer – A Modern One-Click Demo Import Solution shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ 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
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #4 3 too low 2 
Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Modern Footnotes 6K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #13 ↑4 7 too low 7 
Modern Image Formats 100K+ · 3.6★ (26)
wp.org #3 4 too high 8 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too low 10 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #21 ↓6 11 too low 11 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #22 ↑2 11 too low 12 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13 
Modern Fields, Custom Fields for Gutenberg 40+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑8 7 too high 14 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) heavy footprint
wp.org #18 ↓6 3 too low 16 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑4 1 too high 19 
CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Qyrr – simply and modern QR-Code creation 2K+ · 3.8★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓4 10 too high 21 
Hyper PWA – Bringing Modern Progressive Web App Experiences 400+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑4 7 too high 22 Easy Demo Importer – A Modern One-Click Demo Import Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓4 11 too high 23 
Jooosi Icon – Modern SVG icon library for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 
Modern Design Library 70+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.