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← Rankings

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

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 “viewing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Force Refresh shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #1 2 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too low 8 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #8 9 Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #7 ↑4 2 too high 10 Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502) wp.org #10 11 What The File 40K+ · 4.9★ (883) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too low 14 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #22 ↓4 8 too low 15 Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 S Simple Lightbox 100K+ · 4.3★ (239) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Presto Player 100K+ · 4.8★ (346) wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 WpStream – Live Streaming, Video on Demand, Pay Per View 3K+ · 4.8★ (78) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too high 19 PublishPress Permissions: Access Control, Content Permissions, User Access 10K+ · 4.3★ (66) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Force Refresh 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Counter live visitors for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑4 5 too high 24 Leadinfo 7K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #20 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.