Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “splash”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 6 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

N360 | Splash Screen shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 500+ 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

SimpLy Gallery places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 118 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 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #1 2 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #2 3 PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Gmedia Photo Gallery 7K+ · 4.3★ (260) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #17 ↑1 11 too low 7 SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #21 ↑1 14 too low 8 Cart Notices for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 Splash Popup for WooCommerce 40+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #3 ↑2 6 too high 10 JoomSport – for Sports: Team & League, Football, Hockey & more 1K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Terms and Conditions Popup for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too low 12 FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 Webyx for Gutenberg – Fullpage Fullscreen Scrolling Websites 600+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Product Tabs Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #16 ↓5 2 too low 15 Sales Report for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 WappPress – Convert Site to App Fast – WordPress to Mobile App Builder 1K+ · 3.6★ (39) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 Pagination Styler for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 Products Compare for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Bradmax Player 1K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 N360 | Splash Screen 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓1 16 too high 21 Splash Sync 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Splash Header 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #9 13 too high 23 Ultimate Cursor – Interactive and Animated Custom Cursor and Background Effects Toolkit 3K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 FV Player 8 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.