wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “supported browser”
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 “supported browser”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 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
Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 2K+ 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
Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1106 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.
Prevent Browser Caching 10K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #1 2 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85)
wp.org #4 5 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106)
wp.org #19 9 too low 11 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 
Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #14 15 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Gift Cards (Gift Vouchers and Packages) (WooCommerce Supported) 1K+ · 4.7★ (115)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
WP BrowserUpdate 1K+ · 4.6★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #12 7 too high 20 
Document Viewer – let visitors view files right in the browser 2K+ · 4.7★ (52)
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #9 12 too high 22 
Browser Tab Title Reminder 200+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #15 7 too high 23 
Browser Address Bar Color 300+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #5 19 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.