wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin development”
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 “plugin development”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Local Development shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 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 #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 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.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #1 2 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #2 3 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #3 4 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708)
wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 
Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #20 ↑2 10 too low 11 
WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122)
wp.org #11 12 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #16 4 too low 13 
Stop Spammers Classic 20K+ · 4.4★ (243)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 
Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52)
wp.org #13 2 too high 16 
Plugin Groups 1K+ · 4.3★ (31)
wp.org #10 6 too high 17 
Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #18 19 
Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63)
wp.org #14 5 too high 20 
Plugin Report 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 L Local Development 80+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 
Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.