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← Rankings

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

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 “permanent”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Block User Account shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 334 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #1 2 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #2 3 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #3 4 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 All 404 Redirect to Homepage 200K+ · 4.1★ (96) wp.org #8 9 JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 D DS CF7 Math Captcha 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 Disable Lazy Load 9K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too low 14 Delete product images for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 Simple Login Notification 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #18 ↓5 3 too low 16 CM Search And Replace – Optimize content edits with a powerful search and replace tool 2K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too high 17 Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 OnSale Page for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (26) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Block User Account 1K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 NETSENSAI Shield 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 E External Permalinks Redux 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 Simple Analytics 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Add Code To Head 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 Scroll Down Arrow 900+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.