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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove jquery migrate”

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 “remove jquery migrate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 5 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

FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FG PrestaShop to WooCommerce places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 125 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #2 3 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too low 5 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #5 6 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9 WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 FG PrestaShop to WooCommerce 800+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 T Test jQuery Updates 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Falcon – Cache, Performance, Security, Cleanup, and Tweaks 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16 Faview – Virtual Reviews for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Speed Up – Clean WP 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑2 12 too high 22 Remove WordPress Overhead 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 JetHost Total Care – Security & Enhancements 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Perform – Optimize Performance 200+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.