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

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

Easy Progressive Web App shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider places #8 on merit, 4.3★ from 406 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #1 2 PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #2 3 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 PWA — easy way to Progressive Web App 1K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (298) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Hyper PWA – Bringing Modern Progressive Web App Experiences 400+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Add to Home Screen & Progressive Web App 1K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 TinyPNG Image Optimization – Image Compression JPEG & PNG | Convert to WebP & AVIF 100K+ · 4.5★ (181) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Optimus – WordPress Image Optimizer 30K+ · 4.2★ (69) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 WF Magnific Lightbox 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Progressify – All-in-One Progressive Web App (PWA) 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 WooReer 1K+ · 4.1★ (24) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Easy Progressive Web App 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 PWA – Progressive Web App Builder by WPCodeQuill 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Progressive Web App – PWA, Web Push Notifications and Offline Mode 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 SiteEase Progressive Web App 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.