Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “short 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 “short link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 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 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #1 2 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #2 3 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #5 6 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 Link Shortner 700+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Amazon Link Engine 2K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 400+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Link Checker 4K+ · 3.2★ (30) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations 30+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #7 ↑9 8 too high 16 Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #19 ↑3 3 too low 17 Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 Lasso Lite – Affiliate Link Manager, URL Shortener & Link Tracking 4K+ · 3.1★ (47) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 GT Link Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 kURL – Short URL Manager for YOURLS 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Share Link 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.