Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “postname”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

TOBIUO (Template-Oriented Builder of Items, URLs & Organization) shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its — 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

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #1 2 Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #2 3 Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 FV Top Level Categories 20K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Admin Slug Column 5K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Post Category Prev-Next Link Fix 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 W WP Permastructure 400+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #12 13 C CleanUp WP — · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Tainacan 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 W WP Redirect Permallink 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Fresh Install Assistant (FIA) — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Single Category Permalink 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 TOBIUO (Template-Oriented Builder of Items, URLs & Organization) — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Primary Cat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Academic Certificate Verification – Certificate Management & Certificate Validator 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 OptiPub — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 REST API Extender 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Mescio for Agents 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 W WP Print Friendly 500+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #21 3 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.