wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “url path”
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 path”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
Remove Taxonomy URL shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 187 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.
WP Original Media Path 5K+ · 4.9★ (38)
wp.org #1 2 
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Remove Category URL – Remove ‘category’ base from category permalinks 40K+ · 4.3★ (61)
wp.org #3 4 
Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #11 ↑10 3 too low 9 
Admin Slug Column 5K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too high 10 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too low 11 
Go Live Update Urls 90K+ · 4.5★ (59)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #18 ↑2 6 too low 13 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #15 ↑9 2 too low 14 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #20 ↓7 6 too low 15 B Basic URL ShortCodes 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #2 13 too high 16 
Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17 
Speculative Loading 70K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 
WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #24 ↓5 5 too low 20 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑1 14 too high 22 
IndexNow Plugin 100K+ · 3.2★ (47)
wp.org #22 ↓5 23 
Viable URL Media Uploader 90+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 1 1ON1 URL REDIRECTS 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.