Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 version”, 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

Manage/Remove version number from CSS & JS shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ 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

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 5039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Remove Footer Credit 60K+ · 4.7★ (88) wp.org #1 2 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #2 3 Remove Category URL – Remove ‘category’ base from category permalinks 40K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #3 4 Smart Archive Page Remove 6K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #4 5 Remove Uppercase Accents 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #5 6 WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 Bulk remove posts from category 10K+ · 4.6★ (100) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Remove "Powered by WordPress" 20K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Remove CPT base 10K+ · 5.0★ (33) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 Meta Generator and Version Info Remover 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #18 ↑2 7 too low 12 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 NS Remove Related Products for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Remove admin menus by role 8K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Smart Attachment Page Remove 900+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 Remove SKU From Single Product page 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 Hide/Remove Metadata 20K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Remove XML-RPC Methods 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Manage/Remove version number from CSS & JS 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Remove Broken Images 700+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Remove Meta Generators 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 12 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.