Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “new tab”

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

Leaving Notice Popup For External Links – nofollow, noopener & New Tab shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ 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

XML Sitemap & Google News places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 85 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #1 2 External Product New Tab for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #2 3 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #3 4 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce & WordPress Tabs Builder – Smart Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too low 7 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too high 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 ↑3 1 too low 10 Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #4 ↑1 6 too high 11 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #16 ↑5 5 too low 12 Custom Product tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #13 ↓5 1 too low 13 Product Tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Gutena Tabs 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↑2 6 too high 15 Accessibility New Window Warnings 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Responsive Tabs 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #21 ↓3 5 too low 17 Image Gallery 3K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 WPB Custom Tab Manager for WooCommerce – Add, Edit & Reorder Tabs 500+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Vertical News Scroller 5K+ · 4.3★ (17) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Leaving Notice Popup For External Links – nofollow, noopener & New Tab 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓3 8 too high 21 New Order Notification for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 YITH WooCommerce Tab Manager 3K+ · 3.0★ (16) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.