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

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 rsd”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

T

Ranked above its merit

TGG – WP Optimizer shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 373 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 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Remove XML-RPC Methods 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 10 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Disabler 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce – Speed Up & Clean Up Admin 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Falcon – Cache, Performance, Security, Cleanup, and Tweaks 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 T TGG – WP Optimizer 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Advanced Settings 3 200+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Remove WordPress Overhead 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Essential Classy Addons for Elementor – 150+ Widgets, Templates & Performance Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Simple Disable XML-RPC 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Agency Toolkit 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 RefiTune – Site refiner toolkit 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.