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← Rankings

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

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 browser”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ 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

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #1 ↑5 2 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 Leverage Browser Caching 9K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #18 ↑2 10 too low 9 Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (20) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #19 ↑5 5 too low 15 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #21 ↓2 6 too low 16 Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Bangla Web Fonts 2K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 SendPulse Free Web Push 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Speed Up – Browser Caching 700+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 CopySafe Web Protection – Copy Protect Images 800+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Web Stories Widgets For Elementor 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 10 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.