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

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 support”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Catch Web Tools shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #1 2 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #15 ↓3 9 too low 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #3 ↓1 5 too high 9 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↑3 3 too low 10 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too high 12 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #21 ↓3 9 too low 13 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #20 ↓3 7 too low 14 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too high 15 Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (20) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #24 ↓4 5 too low 20 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Catch Web Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 14 too high 22 Podlove Web Player 4K+ · 3.7★ (14) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too high 23 SendPulse Free Web Push 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 HEIC Support 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 14 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.