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

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 web”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Web Worker Offloading shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 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 wp.org
1 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #1 2 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (20) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 ↑16 3 too low 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #13 ↓3 6 too low 8 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #19 ↓2 11 too low 9 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 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 #23 ↓3 11 too low 13 Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Open Graph Protocol Framework 3K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too low 17 Catch Web Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Open Graph 10K+ · 4.3★ (13) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Podlove Web Player 4K+ · 3.7★ (14) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 SendPulse Free Web Push 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too high 22 Open Search Document 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Open Accessibility 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓5 1 too low 24 Web Worker Offloading 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 14 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.