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

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 “perfomance”, 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.

Ranked above its merit

PDF Flipbook, WPBakery Addon – Unreal FlipBook shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 405 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Helper Lite for PageSpeed 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 2 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #2 3 AWCA – The Great Analytics Insights for Your eStore 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 WP Accessibility Helper (WAH) 10K+ · 4.7★ (57) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too low 6 True Lazy Analytics 5K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #7 8 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #16 ↑4 8 too low 9 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 Tablesome Table – Contact Form DB – WPForms, CF7, Gravity, Forminator, Fluent 7K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Osom Modal Login 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #19 ↑4 7 too low 13 No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #13 ↑1 14 ЮKassa для WooCommerce 9K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Telegram Bot & Channel 500+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 LWS Affiliation 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Shipping Zones by Drawing for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.1★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 Servebolt Optimizer 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 AdsInserter 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Achievements sports league 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 PDF Flipbook, WPBakery Addon – Unreal FlipBook 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #5 17 too high 23 S Speed-Checker 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 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.