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← Rankings

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

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 “vanilla”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

Vanilla Bean – Meta Maid shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10+ 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

Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 284 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 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 Highlight Search Terms 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Lightbox Images for Divi Enhanced 4K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #9 10 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 Lazy Load for Comments 2K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Simple GDPR Cookie Compliance 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #12 13 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Pressidium Cookie Consent 10K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Vanilla Bean Slack Hooker 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 14 too high 17 Vanilla Bean – Custom Login 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 What Would Seth Godin Do 900+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too low 20 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Vanilla Bean – Meta Maid 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Add to Cart Ajax for Hello Elementor 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 Easy Auto Reload – Auto Refresh 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Smooth Custom Cursor 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑4 7 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.