Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “programmer”, 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

Verge3D Publishing and E-Commerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Contact Form Clean and Simple places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 195 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #1 2 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #3 4 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 WPAdverts – Classifieds Plugin 4K+ · 4.8★ (160) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 WP All Export – Order Export for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Contact Form Clean and Simple 7K+ · 4.7★ (195) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Content Pilot – Autoblogging & Affiliate Marketing Suite 700+ · 3.6★ (36) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Quick View for WooCommerce – Reno QuickView 2K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Code Manager 500+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #11 12 WP All Export – User Export Add-On 6K+ · 3.6★ (7) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Photo Gallery by Ays – Responsive Image Gallery 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Dynamic Team Manager – Team Member Showcase with grid, slider, table Elementor widget & shortcode 900+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Verge3D Publishing and E-Commerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↑1 9 too high 16 WPScreens 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 ELEX WooCommerce Address Validation & Google Address Autocomplete Plugin 700+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Foliopress WYSIWYG 200+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Quick View For Woocommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Import Markdown – Versatile Markdown Importer 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Animated Number Counters 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Sitelinx Accessibility Lite 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 AIKO – AI Developer Lite 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.