Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “risky”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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.

P

Ranked above its merit

Page Optimize shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Upload Files During Checkout places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 60 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #2 3 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #3 4 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Easy Upload Files During Checkout 500+ · 4.7★ (60) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 DeBounce Email Validator 300+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 ZeroBounce Email Verification & Validation 900+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 SiteLock Security – WP Hardening, Login Security & Malware Scans 1K+ · 3.4★ (14) wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #4 ↓2 13 too high 18 SEO Repair Kit – Spam Monitor, Meta Manager, Schema Manager, Internal Linking, SEO Content Monitoring, GSC Integration 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 VulnTitan – Malware Scanner, Vulnerability Scanner & Security 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 Duplicate and Auto Draft Cleaner 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 OrderGuard 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 LegalWeb Cloud 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 AMWScan Antimalware Scanner Lite 30+ · 3.0★ (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.