Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “ubuntu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 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

AVIF Local Support shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simply Static – The Static Site Generator places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 195 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #1 2 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Active Directory Integration / LDAP Integration 4K+ · 4.9★ (211) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Copy Anything to Clipboard for WordPress – Copy Button, Copy Text & Copy Code 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 too low 7 FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #24 ↓4 16 too low 9 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #23 ↓2 14 too low 10 CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 6 too high 11 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #19 ↓3 8 too low 12 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓4 6 too low 13 Kagivault — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 PicEte Image Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 WP DevOps Dashboard 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 C CoffeeDevs CVE Check for PHP — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 AVIF Local Support 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 JAT Shell Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 BotCreds Agent Artifacts — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too high 20 WP Browser/Platform Detection 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓5 21 SanBar EXPress Catalog Hub — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 LaunchWP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓4 6 too high 23 ACJ MONGODB SYNC 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24 C Custom Post Type Rewrite 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓3 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.