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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “update js”

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 “update js”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Auto Update Post Date shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 2K+ 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

Rich Showcase for Google Reviews places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 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 wp.org
1 Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #3 4 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too low 10 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System 7K+ · 3.7★ (74) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #20 ↑4 8 too low 13 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15 Content Update Scheduler 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #5 ↓1 10 too high 16 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 Auto Update Post Date 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 17 too high 22 C CSS JS Files 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓3 9 too high 23 Easy p5.js Block 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 WPC Update Variations In Cart for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.