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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “server information”

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 “server information”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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 Information – Cookie Banner with Consent Mode v2 shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #1 2 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Server IP & Memory Usage Display 20K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too low 16 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 Server Info – System Health & Diagnostics Suite 3K+ · 3.8★ (12) wp.org #6 ↓1 11 too high 18 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #18 19 Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Cookie Information – Cookie Banner with Consent Mode v2 2K+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 12 too high 21 MC Server Status 90+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Website Information 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓10 2 too low 23 Web Server Information 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑4 4 too high 24 Display Server Info 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.