Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “ted”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

SimpleSocial shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 108 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #1 2 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Schema 30K+ · 4.3★ (221) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Embed Privacy 10K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Ductile Responsive Video 400+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Social Elements for WPBakery Page Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Reader’s Web Publisher — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Embed Consent 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 ProRank SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 V Video Thumbnails Reloaded 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 W Widget Pack 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 SiteCheck Pro AutoFix — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Video Converter 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Calucon Third-Party Embed Gate 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Hydrogen SEO – AI SEO Plugin for Schema, Sitemaps, llms.txt & AEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 JonnyAD SEO – Meta Tags, Schema & Sitemaps — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 TEDTalks Embedder 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Compassionate Comments — · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Responsive Media 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.