Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

WZ Followed Posts – Display what visitors are reading shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 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 #22. 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 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #5 6 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Lara's Google Analytics (GA4) 8K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Toplytics 80+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 T Themify Popup 8K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too high 17 Auto Coupons for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18 After Login Redirect 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 Page View Count 10K+ · 4.0★ (55) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑2 12 too high 21 Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 WZ Followed Posts – Display what visitors are reading 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑1 15 too high 23 Instant Back/Forward 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑3 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.