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

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 query”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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 #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 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

Simple Custom Post Order places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 588 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470) wp.org #1 2 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #2 3 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #6 7 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 The Off Switch (formerly WP Avoid Slow) 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #21 ↑2 9 too low 13 Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #22 ↓3 9 too low 14 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #14 ↑8 15 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 ElasticPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Index WP Users For Speed 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 Hagakure – Yet Another Error Reporter 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Footprint – Find what slows your site 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 12 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.