wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “page 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 “page content”, we agree with wp.org 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
WP Duplicate Page shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1138 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #2 3 
Duplicate Page 3M+ · 4.8★ (466)
wp.org #3 4 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 7 too high 12 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
WP Sitemap Page 200K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #13 14 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #12 4 too high 17 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 6 too high 18 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 
Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131)
wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 
SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 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.