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← Rankings

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

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 “sass”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Sass To CSS Compiler shows at wp.org #2 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme places #9 on merit, 4.5★ from 391 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too low 2 CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 W WP-SCSS 40K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #3 4 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #6 7 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Tangible: Loops & Logic 2K+ · 4.9★ (39) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 PDF.js Viewer 20K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 CodeColorer 1K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Tourfic – AI Powered Travel Booking, Hotel Booking & Car Rental 1K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16 Sass To CSS Compiler 10+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #2 14 too high 17 Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑5 2 too low 18 Easy Video Reviews – Testimonial Grid & Social Proof 100+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 PrettyCode • Code syntax highlighting with CodeMirror 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓2 9 too high 20 WP Page Loading 700+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓4 21 a3 Responsive Slider 200+ · 2.6★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 SyntaxHighlighter Evolved: SASS Brush 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓3 9 too high 23 Theme SCSS Compiler 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 BizReview – Business and Google Place Review Plugin 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.