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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “static files”

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 “static files”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

MAS Static Content shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 10K+ 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

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 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 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #1 2 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #12 ↑2 7 too low 6 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #16 ↑2 10 too low 7 Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Export WordPress Pages to Static HTML & PDF — Static Site Export 4K+ · 3.8★ (51) wp.org #7 ↓2 4 too high 12 Staatic – Static Site Generator for WordPress 3K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too high 13 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Nginx Helper 200K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Leverage Browser Caching 9K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 MAS Static Content 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↓1 16 too high 20 Speed Up – Browser Caching 700+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 21 Static Porter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑2 16 too high 22 Static Site Exporter 400+ · 3.5★ (12) wp.org #22 23 C CSS JS Files 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 AI Discovery Files – llms.txt & AI Visibility 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.