wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pre loader”
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 “pre loader”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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
CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 1K+ 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
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #4 on merit, 4.7★ from 1071 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #1 2 
LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33)
wp.org #2 3 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071)
wp.org #9 5 too low 5 
Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files 50K+ · 4.2★ (92)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
PhastPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (99)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311)
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 
FlexTable – Data Table Sync with Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.6★ (35)
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 
Product Slider, Product Carousel and Product Grid Gallery for WooCommerce – Reno Product Slider (formerly Product Slider for WooCommerce) 20K+ · 4.7★ (280) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) heavy footprint
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 
WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #14 7 too high 22 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 18 too high 23 
W Auto Page Pre Loader 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #7 16 too high 24 
WooCommerce Square 80K+ · 2.1★ (121) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑2 7 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.