wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “preview id”
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 id”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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
Users Bulk Delete With Preview shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 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
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Preview E-mails for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (85)
wp.org #1 2 
Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122)
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too low 9 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #19 10 too low 10 
MKL Product Configurator for WooCommerce – 2D & 3D Live Preview 2K+ · 4.8★ (42) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #24 13 too low 12 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006)
wp.org #21 ↓3 7 too low 15 
WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178)
wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too low 16 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 
Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) host-installed base
wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too low 18 
Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 Users Bulk Delete With Preview 100+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #5 15 too high 21 
Preview Link Generator 100+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 
Virtual Try-On for WooCommerce – Preview AI 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #7 15 too high 23 
ID Image Ad Popup & Roadblock 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓4 11 too high 24 
Mini Live Preview URL 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.