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

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 “solve”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Editor Cleanup For Elementor: clean up and solve plugin conflicts with the Elementor editor shows at wp.org #2 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 WP Accessibility Helper (WAH) 10K+ · 4.7★ (57) wp.org #3 4 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Machete 6K+ · 5.0★ (52) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #8 ↑4 9 Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #13 ↑4 4 too low 10 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #17 ↑4 6 too low 12 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #12 ↓5 1 too high 14 Tidio – Live Chat & AI Chatbots 70K+ · 4.8★ (395) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 Editor Cleanup For Elementor: clean up and solve plugin conflicts with the Elementor editor 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 14 too high 17 Lightweight Sidebar Manager 80K+ · 4.2★ (21) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Stop WP Emails Going to Spam 10K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 Honeypot Anti-Spam 10K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too high 24 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #24

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.