Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “nginx”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Nginx Cache Purge Preload shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Seraphinite Accelerator places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 476 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 Nginx Helper 200K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Nginx Cache 8K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Hestia Nginx Cache 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 ↑1 5 too high 9 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #12 ↑10 3 too low 10 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #14 ↑4 4 too low 11 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 WP-DBManager 50K+ · 4.4★ (95) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #22 ↓3 9 too low 14 WPVulnerability 10K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too high 15 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too high 16 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 XO Security 30K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too low 19 Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 W WPBase Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 TNC Toolbox: Web Performance 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓4 1 too low 24 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 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.