Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “open closed”

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 “open closed”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Website Open/Closed Toggle shows at wp.org #1 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 500+ 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

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too low 5 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #24 ↓6 17 too low 8 Open Close Store for WooCommerce – Business Hours & Order Scheduling 600+ · 3.4★ (41) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #23 ↓2 14 too low 10 Business Hours Indicator 7K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Classic Editor + 30K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Website Open/Closed Toggle 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 16 too high 18 Open Search Document 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 VS Website Closed 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 Mass Pages/Posts Creator 1K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Admin Management Xtended 5K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 RPS Blog Info 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Business Hours & Holiday Schedule Manager 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 ITBoffins Live Opening Hours Banner & Table 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.