Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 window”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 50+ 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

Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 802 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. 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 ↑1 2 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Accessibility New Window Warnings 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #3 4 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #12 ↑3 8 too low 5 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 Ocean Modal Window 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #13 ↑3 6 too low 8 Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too low 10 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Ditty – Responsive News Tickers, Sliders, and Lists 30K+ · 4.6★ (106) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #22 ↓4 10 too low 13 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #19 ↓5 4 too low 16 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 O Open in New Window Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Grid Gallery – for Photo Gallery, Image Gallery & Portfolio 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too high 19 Social Media Icon Widget – Social Profile Links with Gutenberg Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #16 ↑4 3 too high 20 WP Open Comment Links in New Window 100+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 Hyperlink Group Block 7K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Video Gallery – YouTube, Vimeo Gallery & YouTube API 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too high 23 External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 Incognito Window Detect 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.