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

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 “sql”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

SQL Buddy – Database Management Made Easy shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 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 wp.org
1 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 SQL Chart Builder 500+ · 3.9★ (22) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #5 ↑7 1 too low 5 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too high 6 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too low 11 ACF: Better Search 40K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too high 14 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #12 ↑9 4 too high 17 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 SQL Buddy – Database Management Made Easy 5K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #10 ↓2 8 too high 19 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Database Manager – WP Adminer 20K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too high 21 Disable Media Sizes 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 EZ SQL Reports Shortcode Widget and DB Backup 500+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 S SQLite Database Integration 5K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Graphina – Charts and Graphs For Elementor 9K+ · 4.1★ (16) 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.