wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “site specific”

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 “site specific”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Site Assets shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 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

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #1 2

Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #2 3

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #3 4

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #12 6 too low 7

Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #15 6 too low 10

MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 4 too high 11

My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) not PHP-current wp.org #8 3 too high 12

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

Gutenverse – WordPress Blocks, Page Builder & Site Editor 20K+ · 4.9★ (190) heavy footprint wp.org #14 15

Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 8 too high 16

SureFeedback Client Site 5K+ · 4.0★ (39) wp.org #9 7 too high 17

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #23 6 too low 18

Sync Post With Other Site 3K+ · 3.9★ (29) wp.org #16 2 too high 19

Custom Site Logo 1K+ · 4.7★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too high 20

Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #24 4 too low 21

Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.5★ (17) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #21 22

Site Assets 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high 23

WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Global Site Tag Tracking 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews 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.