Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “sanitizer”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

SVG Icons shows at wp.org #7 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 300+ 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

SVG Support places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 356 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 AMP WP – Google AMP For WordPress 600+ · 4.5★ (55) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #20 ↑3 14 too low 7 Upload SVG 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Taggbox: Social Media Feed Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Frontman – AI Website Editor 90+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too low 10 ALD Login Page 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Kodlo Media Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 SVG Icons 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Webtechtut09 Site Kit 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 WEBO MCP 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Sitevorx — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 SVG Enabler 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Send Emails — Newsletters, Automation & Email Marketing for WordPress 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 Minute Video 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Honeylog 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 atshift Fields (Maintenance for Custom Field Suite) 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Strands PDF Embed 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Svigent SVG Engine — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 H Hogan Automatic AI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 EmergentPixel Image Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.