wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “super background”
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 “super background”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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
Super Advent Calendar shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #1 2 
Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Full Screen Background 2K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #4 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 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 #15 ↓2 8 too low 8 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 
Super Testimonial – Testimonial & Customer Review Slider Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.7★ (26)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 
CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326)
wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #12 ↑4 1 too low 12 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #24 11 too low 14 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #23 ↓6 8 too low 16 
Super Video player – Fully Customizable Video Player with Playlist 2K+ · 4.2★ (30)
wp.org #8 8 too high 17 
Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too low 20 Super Advent Calendar 300+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑2 15 too high 21 
Redirect 404 to Homepage 60K+ · 4.6★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 
Super Preloader for Cloudflare 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 
Super Easy Maintenance Mode – Coming Soon & Under Construction 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 
NEX-Forms ADD ON – Super Select 900+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.