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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “php 8”

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 8”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner shows at wp.org #1 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #1 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #8 ↓2 7 too low 2 PHP Compatibility Checker 200K+ · 2.7★ (131) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too low 6 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too low 7 PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8 Native PHP Sessions 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too high 9 Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #10 ↓3 11 Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 10 too high 12 Easy PHP Settings 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 ↓1 9 too high 13 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #18 ↓3 5 too low 14 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Team Members 20K+ · 4.2★ (53) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too high 18 Add Anchor Links 1K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Product Author for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Awesome Guten Text – 8 Powerful Blocks for Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Bumpcheck – PHP 8 Compatibility Check 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Airworthy – PHP Compatibility & Upgrade Checker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 FV Player 8 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓2 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.