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← Rankings

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

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 “practice”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

MakeITeasy Back To Top shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 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 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Theme Check 20K+ · 4.8★ (195) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #12 ↑4 4 too low 9 Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #6 ↑1 6 too high 13 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 YOP Poll 10K+ · 4.4★ (452) wp.org #23 ↓11 4 too low 20 WP Accessibility Helper (WAH) 10K+ · 4.7★ (57) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Servebolt Optimizer 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Remote Website Management by Watchful 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 MakeITeasy Back To Top 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 10 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.