wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “windows 8”
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 “windows 8”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
FV Player 8 shows at wp.org #6 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
MaxButtons – Create buttons places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1093 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802)
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
Lara's Google Analytics (GA4) 8K+ · 4.7★ (122)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36)
wp.org #2 2 too high 5 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #7 8 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342)
wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #16 ↑6 5 too low 12 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093)
wp.org #20 8 too low 13 
XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055)
wp.org #22 ↓6 8 too low 15 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #3 14 too high 18 
Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82)
wp.org #18 19 
Lightbox slider – Responsive Lightbox Gallery 3K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 
VikRentCar Car Rental Management System 4K+ · 4.8★ (30)
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 
Awesome Guten Text – 8 Powerful Blocks for Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 14 too high 23 
Conditional Display for Mobile – Mobile Detect Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 FV Player 8 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #6 18 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.