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

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 counter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Animated Number Counters shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #3 4

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #2 4 too high 7

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #7 8

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too high 10

Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #11 1 too high 13

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 4 too low 15

AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 2 too low 16

Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19

Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 20

Web and WooCommerce Addons for WPBakery Builder 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #20 21

Animated Number Counters 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22

Block Metrics – Animated State Counter 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #14 8 too high 23

Hitsteps Web Analytics 700+ · 3.9★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Personal Hit Counter 30+ · 3.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.