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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “reading mode”

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 “reading mode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 80+ 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

The Events Calendar places #11 on merit, 4.2★ from 2461 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #1 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too low 5 Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too low 13 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #14 ↑5 1 too low 14 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too low 16 Tarot, Oracle cards, Tarot readings, Tarokina 300+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 AEO God Mode – AI Search Visibility 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 ↑1 14 too high 20 Read More Without Refresh 20K+ · 4.2★ (55) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Speculative Loading 70K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Flipa PDF Flipbook – PDF Viewer and Page Flip Book 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 16 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.