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

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 “rocket”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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.

Ranked above its merit

Cookie Rocket, Cookie Consent Banner and Script Blocker for GDPR, CCPA and LGPD shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 70+ 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

Site Reviews places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 376 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2 Social Rocket – Social Sharing Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #10 ↓4 5 too low 6 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #8 ↑7 1 too low 8 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too low 9 Rocket Font – 한글 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Slim Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 5.0★ (63) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #19 ↓6 8 too low 12 Spotlight Social Photo Feed 60K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #13 ↓5 14 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #21 ↓4 6 too low 16 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 Split Test For Elementor 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 SEO Rocket Integration 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↓1 14 too high 19 CodeCareBD – Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 too high 20 Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Paiement par Carte DAHABIA et Carte CIB for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Cookie Rocket, Cookie Consent Banner and Script Blocker for GDPR, CCPA and LGPD 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 UddoktaPay 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Bangladeshi Payments Mobile – MFS Gateway, QR Code, Advance COD Protection, Thermal POS Invoicing & WhatsApp Suite 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑5 6 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.