Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “params”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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.

P

Ranked above its merit

Page Optimize shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP-Polls places #8 on merit, 4.2★ from 136 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 URL Params 8K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #1 2 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 AddQuicktag 100K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too low 7 I iframe 60K+ · 4.4★ (56) wp.org #7 8 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 Cache Warmer 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Pods Gravity Forms Add-On 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #20 ↑3 9 too low 12 CBX User Online & Last Login 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 Remove XML-RPC Methods 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Ultimate WP Mail 700+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Magic Login Mail or QR Code 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓4 3 too low 17 Init View Count – AI-Powered, Trending, REST API 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓4 5 too low 18 C3 Cloudfront Cache Controller 3K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Fathom Analytics Conversions 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Upload Media Exif Date 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too high 21 Simple Ticker 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 RSS Control 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑10 11 too high 23 Exif Details 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Hide Author Archive 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 10 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.