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

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 xml”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Stop XML-RPC Attacks shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1966 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 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 D Disable XML-RPC 200K+ · 4.1★ (34) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #9 10 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 ↑8 2 too low 13 WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #22 ↓9 8 too low 15 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 SureFeedback Client Site 5K+ · 4.0★ (39) wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 Product XML Feed Manager for WooCommerce – Google Shopping, Social Sites, Skroutz & More 1K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Simple Disable XML-RPC 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Stop XML-RPC Attacks 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 XML Feed for Skroutz & BestPrice for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 WP All Import – Import Add-On for ACF 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 XML Sitemaps Manager 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.