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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pageload”

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 “pageload”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 6 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

Divi Lightbox for Jetpack Tiled Galleries shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30+ 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

Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 WP Redis 9K+ · 4.7★ (20) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 A faster website! (aka defer.js) 200+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too low 5 TK Google Fonts 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #23 ↓1 14 too low 10 StaffList 100+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 W WP Social AutoConnect 400+ · 4.4★ (13) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Full Screen Galleries 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Recipe Cards For Your Food Blog from Zip Recipes 1K+ · 4.8★ (95) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 Live Summary for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 My Movie Database 200+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 F FeedWordPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (61) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Radio Station by netmix® – Manage and play your Show Schedule in WordPress! 1K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 easy AMP 500+ · 3.6★ (9) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Analytify – Dashboard Widget for Google Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 Pupop – Lightweight Popups, Exit Intent & Email Capture — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Divi Lightbox for Jetpack Tiled Galleries 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Easy Server Side Tracking — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 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.