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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sitemap cache”

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 “sitemap cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Kwayy HTML Sitemap shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #2 3 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #3 4 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #4 5 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #5 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 WP Sitemap Page 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Comet Cache 20K+ · 4.4★ (108) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Cache Warmer 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #19 20 Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Kwayy HTML Sitemap 6K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 ABCode Cache Warmer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 23 Lightweight Sitemap Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Rapls Sitemap – HTML Sitemap & Post List 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.