Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “web accessibility”

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 “web accessibility”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

Web Accessibility Toolkit – Accessibility Checker & ARIA for WCAG, Section 508 & ADA Compliance shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 500+ 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #3 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #6 ↑5 2 too low 5 WP Accessibility Helper (WAH) 10K+ · 4.7★ (57) wp.org #5 6 Web Accessibility by accessiBe 10K+ · 4.1★ (32) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Accessibility by UserWay 80K+ · 4.0★ (57) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #15 ↑6 3 too low 13 Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Accessibility New Window Warnings 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 Editoria11y Accessibility Checker 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too high 16 Accessibility Tool Kit: WP Accessibility checker plugin for WCAG, Section 508, ADA, EAA Compliance 1K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Accessibility by AllAccessible 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Web accessibility widget by tabnav 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 DJ-Accessibility – Accessibility Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 EqualWeb Accessibility 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Accessibility 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 Web Accessibility with Max Access 700+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓5 1 too high 23 Web Accessibility Toolkit – Accessibility Checker & ARIA for WCAG, Section 508 & ADA Compliance 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 16 too high 24 One Accessibility – WordPress Accessibility Plugin & ADA Compliance Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑3 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.