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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “p tags”

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 “p tags”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

Remove Blank P Tag shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ 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

Smart Slider 3 places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1125 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524) wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too low 3 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too low 4 Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #7 ↑3 3 too low 5 Lightweight Accordion 10K+ · 5.0★ (60) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Empty P Tag 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Smart Custom 404 Error Page 100K+ · 4.9★ (1197) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Testimonial – Testimonial Slider and Showcase Plugin 20K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #11 ↑10 12 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Genesis Simple Hooks 20K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #14 15 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 WPGlobus 8K+ · 4.5★ (228) wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18 Code and Core Remove Empty P Tags 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 16 too high 19 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too high 20 WP Subtitle 10K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Remove Blank P Tag 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓1 17 too high 22 HTML Editor for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Just Output 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Ad Auto Insert H 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 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.