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← Rankings

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

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 “trace”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 7 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

Travel Map shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ 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

ProveSource Social Proof places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 72 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #8 ↑3 4 too low 5 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) wp.org #13 ↑5 4 too low 10 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too low 12 ProveSource Social Proof 2K+ · 4.8★ (72) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 MyParcel 8K+ · 3.9★ (48) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too high 14 Wider Admin Menu 2K+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Email Tracker 800+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too low 16 DecaLog 1K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #10 ↑3 6 too high 17 Affiliate Sales in Google Analytics and other tools 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Angie – Agentic AI 100K+ · 3.3★ (20) wp.org #18 ↓4 19 PostNL for WooCommerce 4K+ · 2.5★ (41) wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too high 20 Travel Map 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑2 13 too high 21 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Word Replace 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 Pargo Smart Logistics Solutions 300+ · 2.8★ (6) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 WC MyParcel Belgium 600+ · 2.0★ (3) wp.org #24

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.