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

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 compatibility”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

BrightLeaf Digital PHP Compatibility Scanner shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 #3 2 too low 2 Insert PHP Code Snippet 90K+ · 4.9★ (707) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Plugin Compatibility Checker 9K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too low 5 Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 PHP Compatibility Checker 200K+ · 2.7★ (131) wp.org #4 ↓2 2 too high 7 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #21 ↓3 9 too low 13 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #20 ↓3 7 too low 14 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Better Plugin Compatibility Control 4K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 too high 16 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Native PHP Sessions 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Breadcrumb NavXT 800K+ · 4.6★ (132) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Easy PHP Settings 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 BrightLeaf Digital PHP Compatibility Scanner 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑4 13 too high 23 Airworthy – PHP Compatibility & Upgrade Checker 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 CompatNav – PHP Upgrade Checker 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 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.