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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “specific page”

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 “specific page”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

WP Duplicate Page shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #2 3 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Post/Page Specific Custom Code 6K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 Specific Content For Mobile – Customize the mobile version without redirections 4K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13 WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #19 ↑5 5 too low 15 WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Hide Page And Post Title 40K+ · 3.6★ (54) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Block Plugin Update 5K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Shop Page WP 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Print Page Block – make any page printable in one click 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Freesoul Switch Theme: load a different theme on specific pages 100+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.