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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “visit count”

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 “visit count”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Link Visit Counter shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 30+ 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

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2617 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #7 ↑2 4 too low 4 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too low 7 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #16 ↓3 8 too low 9 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too low 11 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15 Visitor Count by MrStar 400+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #2 13 too high 16 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 GravityWP – Count 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #9 ↓3 8 too high 18 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 Simple Page Redirect 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 What Would Seth Godin Do 900+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #20 ↑3 2 too high 23 Link Visit Counter 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 20 too high 24 Page Visit Counter Analytics – Website Statistics & Google Analytics Alternative for WordPress 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 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.