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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress loader”

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 loader”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 3 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

Icons Font Loader – use web icons anywhere on your site, fast shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #1 2 Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 RabbitLoader 1K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #21 ↑1 13 too low 9 The WP Remote WordPress Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (74) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11 SearchWP Live Ajax Search 40K+ · 4.7★ (36) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 GTM Kit – Google Tag Manager & GA4 integration 30K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 AboveWP Page Loader 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↑1 12 too high 15 E2Pdf – Export Pdf Tool for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Microsoft Azure Storage for WordPress 2K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 Ajax loader + Cache 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Icons Font Loader – use web icons anywhere on your site, fast 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓2 15 too high 20 Quick Ajax Post Loader 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 Vagizov Metrika Loader 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 Products Skeleton Loader for WooCommerce 30+ · 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.