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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “slow”

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 “slow”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Footprint – Find what slows your site shows at wp.org #3 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 21 places. Its 200+ 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

Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1597 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 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 #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 The Off Switch (formerly WP Avoid Slow) 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 ↑1 3 too high 5 Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #8 ↑4 2 too low 7 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #9 ↑5 2 too low 8 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #7 ↑9 1 too high 9 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #14 ↓6 5 too low 10 Lightbox with PhotoSwipe 20K+ · 4.9★ (115) wp.org #10 ↓3 11 WP YouTube Lyte 20K+ · 4.8★ (206) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #12 ↓3 13 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #15 ↑8 2 too low 14 Maps Widget for Google Maps 20K+ · 4.6★ (512) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #22 ↓9 3 too low 20 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #19 ↑3 2 too high 22 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #24 ↓5 1 too low 24 Footprint – Find what slows your site 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 21 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.