wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress debugging”
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 “wordpress debugging”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
ElasticPress Debugging Add-On shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 800+ 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
Query Monitor places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Debugging 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 
FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92)
wp.org #2 3 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917)
wp.org #3 4 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #4 5 
Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
Code Profiler – WordPress Performance Profiling and Debugging Made Easy 8K+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #7 2 too high 10 
Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179)
wp.org #10 11 Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470)
wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 
Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488)
wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 
Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95)
wp.org #13 2 too high 16 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
WP Synchro – The Ultimate WordPress Migration Tool 2K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #14 ↑8 3 too high 18 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 
Analytics Insights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (34)
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Easy PHP Settings 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 
Surfer – WordPress Plugin 6K+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 ElasticPress Debugging Add-On 800+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #9 14 too high 24 
Debug Log Viewer 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) thin reviews
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.