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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “quick links tab”

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 “quick links tab”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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

Floating Side Tab shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ 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

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 542 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WPC Smart Quick View for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #11 ↑3 6 too low 6 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #13 ↑7 7 too low 7 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Quick Event Manager 1K+ · 4.9★ (67) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too high 9 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too low 11 Product Tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓5 1 too high 17 Dashboard quick links widget 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 Floating Side Tab 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 Addonify – Quick View For WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 12 too high 20 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Direct Checkout – Quick View – Buy Now For WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Quick View For Woocommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 QODE Quick View for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 11 too high 24 Gallery Tile Links (for Elementor) 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 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.