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

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 “php”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

PHP Version shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 6K+ 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

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Insert PHP Code Snippet 90K+ · 4.9★ (707) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #3 ↓2 4 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #16 ↑4 10 too low 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #21 14 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #18 ↓2 10 too low 9 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Native PHP Sessions 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Easy PHP Settings 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Custom PHP Settings 10K+ · 4.4★ (15) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 PHP Compatibility Checker 200K+ · 2.7★ (131) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Code Engine – PHP Snippets, AI Functions & Automation for WordPress 800+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #17 18 Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑3 13 too high 19 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 PHP Version 6K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 Add Custom Codes – Insert Header, Footer, Custom PHP Snippets, CSS, Javascript 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 PHP Vitals 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 WPLifeCycle – Free PHP Version Info & Website Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.