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

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 “next”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Next Watermark shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 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 signals wp.org

Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2

Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #3 4

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #6 ↓4 2 too low 5

Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #5 ↓2 6

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #9 ↑4 3 too low 7

Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #10 11

Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #16 ↓4 3 too low 14

NextMove Lite – Thank You Page for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #20 ↓3 6 too low 15

Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) not PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17

PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #24 ↓6 7 too low 18

WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #21 ↓15 3 too low 19

Floating Social Share Icons and Social Share buttons – Next Previous Post Links – FL 200+ · 4.7★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 4 too high 20

WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21

Next Watermark 200+ · 3.4★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 17 too high 22

Admin Previous and Next Order Edit Links for Woocommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #7 15 too high 23

Next-Cart Store to WooCommerce Migration 100+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓2 11 too high 24

FormGent – Next-Gen AI Form Builder for WordPress with Multi-Step, Quizzes, Payments & More 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.