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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “page testing”

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 testing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

EasyTest – Simplify A/B Testing shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 10K+ 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

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Nelio A/B Testing – AB Tests and Heatmaps for Better Conversion Optimization 4K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #2 3 Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Landing Page Builder – Coming Soon page, Maintenance Mode, Lead Page, WordPress Landing Pages 8K+ · 4.6★ (202) wp.org #5 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too low 8 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too low 11 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #17 ↑7 6 too low 12 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14 Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too high 15 Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 CheckView – Form & Checkout Testing 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #3 16 too high 20 My WP A/B Testing 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Checkout Shield for WooCommerce – Stop Fake Orders, Spam Bots & Card Testing 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Unbounce Landing Pages 10K+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 EasyTest – Simplify A/B Testing 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Sigmize: A/B Testing, Session Recordings, Heatmaps & Revenue Tracking for WooCommerce, SureCart & EDD 5K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.