wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “troubleshooting”
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 “troubleshooting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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
Troubleshooting shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Insert PHP Code Snippet places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 707 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.
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #3 ↑5 4 
Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting Conflicts 5K+ · 4.0★ (49) not PHP-current
wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 
Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179)
wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too low 6 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488)
wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too low 8 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 
WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131)
wp.org #9 ↑4 10 
Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 
WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓4 4 too low 12 Insert PHP Code Snippet 90K+ · 4.9★ (707)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #17 ↓5 3 too low 15 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑3 2 too high 16 
Login With Ajax – Fast Logins, 2FA, Redirects 10K+ · 4.6★ (167)
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
WP Debugging 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 
Go Live Update Urls 90K+ · 4.5★ (59)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 
Font Awesome 400K+ · 3.6★ (61)
wp.org #12 ↑2 7 too high 20 
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) heavy footprint
wp.org #21 ↓4 22 
IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35)
wp.org #22 23 
Cookie Bar 10K+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 T Troubleshooting 700+ · 1.0★ (1) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #5 ↑1 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.