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

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 “ram”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

Plugin Memory Usage shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ 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

Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 60 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Surge 4K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 OSS Aliyun 3K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60) wp.org #21 ↓1 12 too low 10 D Data Exchange for WooCommerce and 1C:Enterprise/1С:Предприятие 1K+ · 4.6★ (29) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 M MimeTypes Link Icons 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #20 ↓2 9 too low 12 EDI – Обмен данными между WooCommerce и 1С 600+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Speed Up – Page Cache 50+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 System Dashboard 900+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 ezCache 10K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 WebTotem Security 700+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too high 19 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Plugin Memory Usage 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 Fastcache by Host.it 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑2 9 too high 23 Luzid Backup to Nextcloud 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 atec Hosting Check 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.