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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “tab focus”

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 “tab focus”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Tabs Block – Responsive Gutenberg Tabs for Block Editor shows at wp.org #3 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 21 places. Its 700+ 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

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #1 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #2 3 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Plethora Tabs + Accordions 2K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Advanced Accordion Gutenberg Block – Create Beautiful FAQs, Content Accordions & Interactive Tabs 9K+ · 4.1★ (34) wp.org #12 13 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #13 14 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Easy Tabs Block – Smart, Lightweight & Responsive Tabs for the Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Jetpack VideoPress 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Addon Elementor Container Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Tabs Block – Responsive Gutenberg Tabs for Block Editor 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 21 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.