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← Rankings

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

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.js”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Redirection Manager shows at wp.org #19 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPGraphQL 30K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #1 2 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Autocomplete Google Address 2K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Frontend View For Headless CMS 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 5 Enhanced Autoload Manager 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Git it Write – Write posts from GitHub 100+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Text to Speech – Reinvent WP 40+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Vireo Analytics – Cookieless WordPress Stats & Google Analytics Alternative 20+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Headless REST API Security 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Content Revalidation Tracker 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Infospica Headless API — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 I Invizo Headless Mode 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Better Smooth Scroll 10+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Headless Login Guard — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 WPEM – REST API 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 On-Demand Revalidation 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Corsen Context 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Smooth API Accelerator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 AnobikDock — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 NexWordX — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 R ReadySpace Headless SEO Bridge for Rank Math — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 HeadlessNext Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Headless Portfolio CMS — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Redirection Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.