Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rich”

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 “rich”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Event SEO: Event Schema / Structured Data: Google Rich Snippet Schema for Event shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1916 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #1 2 Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets 30K+ · 4.0★ (162) wp.org #2 3 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #5 ↑3 2 too low 4 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #4 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #8 9 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too low 10 JVM Rich Text Icons 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #13 ↓2 14 GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #20 ↑3 6 too low 15 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #17 ↑2 18 Widget Content Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Rich Table of Contents 20K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20 Schema Package – Structured Data & Rich Snippets Tool for SEO 200+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Event SEO: Event Schema / Structured Data: Google Rich Snippet Schema for Event 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22 RichText Extension 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Rich Text Formats 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Term Description: Rich Text Editor (Powered by TinyMCE) for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 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.