wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “visual sitemap”
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 “visual sitemap”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Lightweight Sitemap Generator shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ 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
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery places #7 on merit, 4.3★ from 4342 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340)
wp.org #1 2 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115)
wp.org #5 6 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342)
wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too low 8 
SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51)
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136)
wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too low 10 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too low 11 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 
GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683)
wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 
ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #13 ↓6 1 too high 15 
SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171)
wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 
Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144)
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162)
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 
UiChemy – Convert Figma, Prompts and AI Builds to Elementor, Gutenberg and Bricks 8K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 
Custom Sitemap Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑1 13 too high 21 
Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too high 22 
SEO Repair Kit – Spam Monitor, Meta Manager, Schema Manager, Internal Linking, SEO Content Monitoring, GSC Integration 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Lightweight Sitemap Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑1 15 too high 24 
Easy XML Sitemap 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 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.