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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “view counter”

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 “view counter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 5 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

Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites shows at wp.org #2 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 3K+ 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

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 102 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #13 11 too low 3 Post View Count 4K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #16 ↑4 12 too low 5 Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Post Pay Counter 1K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 Cresta Social Share Counter 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #20 ↓2 10 too low 11 Page View Count 10K+ · 4.0★ (55) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 WP Views Counter 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 SRS Simple Hits Counter 8K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 13 too high 16 Counter live visitors for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 View Post Counter – Website Analytics 100+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 WPS Visitor Counter 10K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Init View Count – AI-Powered, Trending, REST API 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 PageViews Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Click Counter and Heat Maps (Free) 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 Counter-Hits 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 MWR Hit Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Word Counter Plus 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.