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

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 “nags”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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

ConsentOwl — Cookie Consent & Tracker Blocker shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 100 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #1 2 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #2 3 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #6 ↑8 3 too low 4 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too low 6 Import Users from CSV 10K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #12 ↑4 5 too low 8 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 WPS Notice Center 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Custom Post Carousels with Owl 2K+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 Hide Dashboard Notifications 20K+ · 3.9★ (33) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 Unagi 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 8 too high 14 Ultimate Client Dash 2K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Falcon – Cache, Performance, Security, Cleanup, and Tweaks 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 No Update Nag 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 Disabler 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Simple SEO 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 19 Simple Translation Remover 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 ConsentOwl — Cookie Consent & Tracker Blocker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓2 10 too high 21 Disable Updates – Selective Update Control 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Scrumptious – Recipe Cards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 23 PlatformInfo 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 BlogSEO 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.