Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “visited”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

CF7 Visited Pages URL Tracking shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 60+ 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

3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 182 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too low 6 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #14 ↑4 5 too low 10 Lara's Google Analytics (GA4) 8K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Auto Coupons for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #22 ↑1 7 too low 16 After Login Redirect 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17 T Themify Popup 8K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 CF7 Visited Pages URL Tracking 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 16 too high 19 Page View Count 10K+ · 4.0★ (55) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Advanced Category and Custom Taxonomy Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 Ads.txt and App-Ads.txt – AdEnergizer 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 GetResponse Official 4K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Instant Back/Forward 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.