Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 publishing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

WP-FormAssembly 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 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 125 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 3 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 ↑6 4 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 SEO WRITING – AI Writer for SEO & AI Search 20K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 too high 12 Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Hyper PWA – Bringing Modern Progressive Web App Experiences 400+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 WonderPush – Web Push Notifications – WooCommerce Abandoned Cart – GDPR 600+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Podlove Podcast Publisher 3K+ · 4.3★ (45) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 T Tilda-publishing 700+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) 100K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 20 Verge3D Publishing and E-Commerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 WP-FormAssembly 2K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 too high 22 TNC Toolbox: Web Performance 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 S Skyword Publishing API 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.