wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “preview delete”
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 “preview delete”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Users Bulk Delete With Preview shows at wp.org #2 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 100+ 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
Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #1 2 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 
Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #13 ↑2 7 too low 7 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #12 ↓4 4 too low 9 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962)
wp.org #18 ↓6 8 too low 11 
Delete All Products for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #3 8 too high 12 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #14 ↑8 2 too low 13 
MKL Product Configurator for WooCommerce – 2D & 3D Live Preview 2K+ · 4.8★ (42)
wp.org #8 5 too high 14 
File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155)
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #15 ↓1 16 
Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41)
wp.org #10 6 too high 17 
WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237)
wp.org #21 ↓4 4 too low 18 
Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302)
wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 Users Bulk Delete With Preview 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #2 17 too high 20 
BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
FileOrganizer – WordPress File Manager 200K+ · 4.8★ (49)
wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too low 22 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23 
Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓3 7 too high 24 
Smart Bulk Delete & Content Cleaner for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.