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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “old files”

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 “old files”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database shows at wp.org #4 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Checkout Files Upload for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #10 ↑3 1 too low 10 Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556) wp.org #13 ↓4 3 too low 11 Cyrlitera – Transliteration of Links and File Names 40K+ · 4.6★ (62) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #14 ↓3 15 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #15 16 Easy Upload Files During Checkout 500+ · 4.7★ (60) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 Rename Media Files: Improve Your SEO 8K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 WP Attachments – Smarter File Management & Download Lists 3K+ · 4.5★ (43) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Cyr to Lat Reloaded – Transliteration of Links and File Names 30K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Rename WP Media Files Name 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Good old Share 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 File Media Renamer for SEO 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 AI Discovery Files – llms.txt & AI Visibility 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.