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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mozilla”

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 “mozilla”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 2 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

Free PDF to Flipbook shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500+ 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

PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress places #3 on merit, 4.7★ from 529 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PDF.js Viewer 20K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #1 2 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too low 3 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #10 ↓4 7 too low 4 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too low 5 Lightbox slider – Responsive Lightbox Gallery 3K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Pdf Embed 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too low 8 PDF viewer for Elementor & Gutenberg 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 PDF Viewer Block for Gutenberg 10K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 too high 10 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #17 ↓4 7 too low 11 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #18 ↓3 7 too low 12 Conditional Display for Mobile – Mobile Detect Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 WC Korkmaz Contract – Contracts for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #23 ↓5 9 too low 15 Social LikeBox & Feed 10K+ · 3.3★ (47) wp.org #15 ↓4 16 Images Optimize and Upload CF7 700+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #11 ↓3 5 too high 17 easy.jobs – AI powered Job Listing, Job Board, Career Page, Recruitment & Hiring Solution 4K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Code Embed 10K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 WP Email Template 2K+ · 3.1★ (35) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20 Grayscale Images 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Email Auth – DKIM, SPF, DMARC, Bounce Address, From Address 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓6 5 too high 22 iNext Woo Pincode Checker 600+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 YeeMail — Email Template Builder & Customizer 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too high 24 Free PDF to Flipbook 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.