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← Rankings

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

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

Post As Subdomain Lite shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

NS Cloner – Site Cloner and Multisite Duplicator places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 279 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #1 2 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #2 3 WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #7 ↑3 3 too low 5 Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation 50K+ · 4.8★ (1940) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Nginx Helper 200K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Multisite Language Switcher 3K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Domain Mapping System | Create Microsites with Multiple Alias Domains (multisite optional) 2K+ · 4.5★ (56) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 NS Cloner – Site Cloner and Multisite Duplicator 6K+ · 4.7★ (279) wp.org #24 ↓2 12 too low 13 Page As Subdomain Lite 500+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Images to WebP 9K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Siteboosterseo 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 Lightweight Cookie Notice – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Security.txt Manager 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Post As Subdomain Lite 40+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 Advanced Email Domain Restriction 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓3 23 Remove Cookies From Static Resources 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Podigee for WordPress: Podcast Episodes to Blog Posts 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #18 6 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.