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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “super preloader”

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 preloader”, 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

Super Product Filter for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 85 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP Performance Score Booster – Optimize Speed, Enable Cache & Page Preload 10K+ · 4.6★ (339) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Super Preloader for Cloudflare 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 ↓1 4 too high 7 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #8 9 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10 FOX – Currency Switcher Professional for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.4★ (250) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Beans · Loyalty and Rewards programs for Woocommerce 40+ · 3.8★ (22) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Optimazz – Website Optimization and Speedup 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑3 2 too high 16 Asset Preloader: preload the assets only on the pages where you need it 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 ABCode Cache Warmer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Super Product Filter for WooCommerce 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↑1 12 too high 19 Interactive Polish Map 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 Quick View For Woocommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 Contact Form Plugin 2K+ · 2.8★ (17) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 King Addons for Elementor – 100+ Elementor Widgets, 4 000+ Elementor Templates, WooCommerce Builder, Mega Menu, Popup Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓6 4 too high 23 Smart Preload DL — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Samybaxy's Hyperdrive — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.