Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “position”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue shows at wp.org #2 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 80+ 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

Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 696 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 Reading Position Indicator 800+ · 5.0★ (66) wp.org #1 2 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2432) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #10 ↑7 2 too low 9 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #11 ↑8 2 too low 10 WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131) wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too low 11 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #17 ↑7 5 too low 13 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #16 ↓6 3 too low 14 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #9 ↓2 7 too high 17 Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too low 18 Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19 WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (220) wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too high 20 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too high 21 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #20 ↓5 1 too high 22 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 20 too high 23 Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too high 24 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.