Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 url”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Remove Website URL Field From Comment Form shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ 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

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Remove Category URL – Remove ‘category’ base from category permalinks 40K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #1 2 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 URL Params 8K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #12 ↓4 7 too low 6 Smart Archive Page Remove 6K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 Remove CPT base 10K+ · 5.0★ (33) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #17 ↓4 7 too low 11 Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Smart Attachment Page Remove 900+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #9 ↓2 6 too high 16 Permalink Manager for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 WP Custom Author URL 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too high 18 Remove Website URL Field From Comment Form 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 12 too high 19 Coupons & Add to Cart by URL Links for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too low 20 Advance Canonical URL 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too high 21 WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓3 3 too high 22 Show Pages URL List 1K+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓4 23 Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓3 7 too high 24 Remove Broken Images 700+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓4 4 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.