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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “orphaned content”

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

CodingBunny Database Cleaner shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Reset places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 1014 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #3 4 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too low 6 Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Orphans 50K+ · 5.0★ (164) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too low 9 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 WPS Cleaner 10K+ · 4.3★ (99) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 s2Member – Excellent for All Kinds of Memberships, Content Restriction Paywalls & Member Access Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.1★ (234) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (151) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Media Library Tools – AI-Powered Rename, Clean & CSV Import/Export 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Clean unused shortcodes 300+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 CodingBunny Database Cleaner 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑2 8 too high 21 OrphanPages – Internal Link Audit, Orphaned Pages, Broken Links & SEO Content Structure Analyzer 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 Relinka – Internal Linking & Orphan Page Finder 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.