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

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 “uri”, 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.

W

Ranked above its merit

WPFrank Companion shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ 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

Ultimate Responsive Image Slider places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 248 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 WP Datepicker 6K+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #9 10 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #15 ↑7 5 too low 11 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too low 12 Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #20 ↓4 7 too low 14 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #24 ↓4 10 too low 15 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 WP Docs 1K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 F FeedWordPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (61) wp.org #19 ↓4 2 too low 18 User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) wp.org #18 ↓4 19 Easy Google Adsense and Banner Ads Manager – AdsforWP 1K+ · 4.6★ (43) wp.org #23 ↓4 4 too low 20 WP User Merger 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 Core Web Vitals & PageSpeed Booster 1K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #22 ↓5 1 too low 22 W WPFrank Companion 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓2 12 too high 23 Export Customers Data 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Remove Meta Generators 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 10 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.