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← Rankings

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

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 “scripts”, we agree with wp.org 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 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

Tracking Script Manager shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Autoptimize places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1428 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Flying Scripts: Delay JavaScript to Improve Site Speed & Performance 30K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #1 2 Header and Footer Scripts 200K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #2 3 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #3 4 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 S Scripts To Footer 7K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Transliterator – Multilingual and Multi-script Text Conversion 3K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too low 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #12 ↑4 1 too low 12 Assets manager, dequeue scripts, dequeue styles for WordPress 2K+ · 4.3★ (53) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too low 15 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 LuckyWP Scripts Control 3K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Insert Headers and Footers Code – HT Script 7K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Tracking Script Manager 2K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 Header Footer Script Adder 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Optimize Scripts & Styles 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 4 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.