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

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 “tailored”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Tailored Tools shows at wp.org #1 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #5 6

Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 7

CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #10 ↑7 3 too low 8

Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 T Tailored Tools 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #1 10 too high 12

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #20 ↓4 8 too low 13

Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14

SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #14 ↑6 15

Justified Gallery 8K+ · 4.9★ (206) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #18 2 too low 17

Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #7 ↑2 10 too high 18

Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 4 too low 19

WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too high 20

Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21

Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓5 8 too high 22

AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23

Lazy Load Control For Elementor – Remove the Lazy Load attribute from specific images in Elementor 3K+ · 4.9★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 4 too high 24

Gutentools 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 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.