wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “url mapping”
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 “url mapping”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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
Public Preview URL Manager shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ 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
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 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.
Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 ↑3 2 
Domain Mapping System | Create Microsites with Multiple Alias Domains (multisite optional) 2K+ · 4.5★ (56)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071)
wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #8 ↑11 3 too low 6 
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #11 ↑11 5 too low 7 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #14 7 too low 8 
Custom Query Blocks 700+ · 4.6★ (25) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 
WP Ultimate CSV Importer – WordPress CSV, XML & Excel Import Export 20K+ · 4.4★ (593)
wp.org #17 ↓4 8 too low 10 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992)
wp.org #24 13 too low 12 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 
Cyrlitera – Transliteration of Links and File Names 40K+ · 4.6★ (62)
wp.org #13 ↓3 14 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – RexFeed – Sell on 200+ Shopping Channels 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too low 16 
Cyr to Lat Enhanced 80K+ · 4.6★ (51)
wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 
URL Image Importer – Import External Images to the Media Library from URL, CSV & XML 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 14 too high 18 
Domain For Sale – Landing Page Per Domain, Domain Mapping, Offers & Listings 200+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 
Nginx Helper 200K+ · 4.4★ (31)
wp.org #22 ↓5 3 too low 20 
Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too high 21 
WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327)
wp.org #23 ↓5 2 too low 22 Public Preview URL Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #7 15 too high 23 B Bulk Trash by URL 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 
Show Page URL 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓5 4 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.