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

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 fpm”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

OPcache Reset shows at wp.org #4 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Transliterator – Multilingual and Multi-script Text Conversion places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 96 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Easy PHP Settings 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Transliterator – Multilingual and Multi-script Text Conversion 3K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #12 8 too low 5 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 SAR Friendly SMTP 2K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 W WPBase Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↑5 5 too high 9 Auto Alt Text 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too low 11 D Data Exchange for WooCommerce and 1C:Enterprise/1С:Предприятие 1K+ · 4.6★ (29) wp.org #21 ↓3 10 too low 12 GT Link Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13 OPcache Reset 500+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓1 9 too high 14 Flash Cache 20+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑4 4 too high 15 C Code Capsules Performance Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑10 6 too high 16 CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 Fleet Agent Site Manager – Securely Connects Your Sites to a WPMgr Dashboard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 EmiCache – Faster Elementor, Better PageSpeed 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 LumenCache 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 INI Scout 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 2Download Connector for 2DL Hosted Checkout — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 DigiNex Limit Booster — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Footprint – Find what slows your site 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24 FlynCache Purge — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.