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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rsd link”

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 “rsd link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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.

T

Ranked above its merit

TGG – WP Optimizer shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer places #10 on merit, 4.3★ from 109 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #4 ↑10 2 too low 3 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too low 6 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #15 ↑9 8 too low 8 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Falcon – Cache, Performance, Security, Cleanup, and Tweaks 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #22 ↓3 12 too low 11 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Disabler 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Essential Classy Addons for Elementor – 150+ Widgets, Templates & Performance Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16 T TGG – WP Optimizer 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 11 too high 17 Remove XML-RPC Methods 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 Simple Disable XML-RPC 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 19 Advanced Settings 3 200+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 Agency Toolkit 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 ZenPress 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Selfish Fresh Start 20+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 Quiet Admin – Hide Admin Notices, Disable Comments, Clean Dashboard & More 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too high 24 Utils para WooCommerce y WordPress 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.