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

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 “specify”, 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Minimum Purchase Amount For Woo Cart – For WooCommerce shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #1 2

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 #2 3

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) low rating, top placement wp.org #3 4 too high 8

PW WooCommerce Gift Cards 20K+ · 4.7★ (195) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #12 ↑10 3 too low 10

Resize Image After Upload 80K+ · 4.8★ (56) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11

Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) wp.org #13 ↑4 2 too low 12

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #23 ↓14 11 too low 13

Leaflet Map 30K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15

Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #18 2 too low 17

WP SVG Images 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18

Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19

URL Params 8K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20

Fixed Bottom Menu 4K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21

Easy Accept Payments via PayPal 6K+ · 4.5★ (34) wp.org #21 ↓2 22

Minimum Purchase Amount For Woo Cart – For WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.7★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23

WP Login Form 7K+ · 4.6★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

Mime Types Plus 10K+ · 3.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.