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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “random pages”

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 “random pages”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

XV Random Quotes shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 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 Random Content 3K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too low 3 Random Posts and Pages Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #11 ↓3 7 too low 5 Random Banner 1K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 Hot Random Image 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #21 ↓5 10 too low 12 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 A Random Number 700+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #4 ↑1 12 too high 17 SEO Redirection Plugin – 301 Redirect Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (73) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Tabs Widget for Page Builder 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #18 ↑2 19 XV Random Quotes 300+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20 WP Random Post Thumbnails 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Better Random Redirect 600+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Random Post on Refresh 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Generate Random Orders For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑2 11 too high 24 Random Image Block for Block Editor 100+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #15 ↑6 9 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.