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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “module manager”

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 “module manager”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page shows at wp.org #16 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 23 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249) wp.org #7 ↓1 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 #8 9 WCFM – Frontend Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (286) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #12 ↑5 2 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #18 ↑5 5 too low 14 User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #9 ↓2 7 too high 17 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #17 ↓3 18 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Travelly – Tour & Travel Booking Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #16 8 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.