Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “viral”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Viral Buy for Me for WooCommerce Increase Sales shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 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

Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 79 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 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #1 2 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1596) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Quiz Cat – WordPress Quiz Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Quiz Maker, Poll Maker & Survey Maker by Opinion Stage 6K+ · 4.4★ (277) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too low 9 ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (71) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #15 ↑3 5 too low 11 Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #10 ↑3 1 too high 12 WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #8 ↑2 4 too high 13 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 Woorise – Forms, Quizzes & Giveaways 1K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too high 15 Floating Social Share Icons and Social Share buttons – Next Previous Post Links – FL 200+ · 4.7★ (73) wp.org #18 ↑4 3 too low 16 ARI Stream Quiz – WordPress Quizzes Builder 1K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 WP Delicious – Recipe Plugin for Food Bloggers (formerly Delicious Recipes) 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 Gratisfaction- Contests Giveaways Referral Loyalty Rewards and Birthdays Program 20+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Better Sharing 20+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 21 News Element Elementor Blog Magazine 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑2 7 too high 22 WP MyLinks 1K+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Viral Buy for Me for WooCommerce Increase Sales 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Viral Loops WP Integration 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #21 3 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.