Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 toolbar”, we agree with wp.org 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

ReachDeck Toolbar shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

EmbedPress places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 307 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #1 2 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Real Accessibility: Accessibility Widget & Toolbar 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Screen Reader Accessibility – WCAG, Text-to-Speech & AI Accessibility Fixes 600+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too low 8 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #8 9 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 I Insert Pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Web Accessibility with Max Access 700+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 WPScan – WordPress Security Scanner 8K+ · 3.8★ (28) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Highlighting Code Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19 CP Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 Flipa PDF Flipbook – PDF Viewer and Page Flip Book 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 ReachDeck Toolbar 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 Binge Reading Archive Page 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Widewalk – Accessibility Toolbar 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 8 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.