Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 tweet”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Instant Back/Forward shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ 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

Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 172 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates 70K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #19 13 too low 7 FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 XPoster – Share to Bluesky and Mastodon 10K+ · 3.8★ (69) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 BrainyPress 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Gutenberg Blocks – ACF Blocks Suite 400+ · 3.4★ (13) wp.org #11 12 Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Instant Back/Forward 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 Project Pages – Portfolio Template, Portfolio Maker, Work Context Explorer! 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 15 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 WPMozo Blocks and Addons 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 WPMozo Addons Lite for Elementor 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Zware Automatic Social Posts and Login 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 Post Carousel & Grid for Elementor by WebCodingPlace 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Estasoft Name Catalog — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 VaultFeed — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 R Random Tweet Widget 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Widget Box Lite 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 CECOM Wishlist for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) 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.