wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “welcome message”

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 “welcome message”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Welcome Greetings based on Time shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1199 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too low 2 D Disable Welcome Messages and Tips 700+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #3 4

Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) not PHP-current wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑5 1 too low 6

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7

My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too low 8

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #11 ↓3 3 too low 9

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too low 10

Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 11

Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too low 12

Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 3 too high 13

Advanced Free Shipping for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.8★ (122) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

What Would Seth Godin Do 900+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓2 7 too high 15

WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #24 ↓3 9 too low 16

Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓9 7 too low 17

Welcome Greetings based on Time 30+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #4 13 too high 18

WebToffee eCommerce Marketing Automation – Email marketing, Popups, Email customizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (54) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19

Ultimate Client Dash 2K+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 20

Brevo for WooCommerce 30K+ · 3.4★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓8 21

Marijuana Age Verify 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 22

My Wp Brand – Hide menu & Hide Plugin 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23

Newgital Welcome Message — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓3 10 too high 24

Host Domination Welcome Book: Free Digital Guest Guide for Vacation Rentals, B&Bs & Hotels 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 6 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.