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

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 services”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Services Section Block – present your services in clean grids and columns shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 3 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (20) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #9 ↑6 1 too low 9 Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 Services Section Block – present your services in clean grids and columns 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 SendPulse Free Web Push 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Web Stories Widgets For Elementor 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 WEB-Translation – eTranslation Multilingual 400+ · 3.7★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 AI Services 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Integrate PostHog Web Analytics 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.