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

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 notification”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 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 signals wp.org

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 3

WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131) wp.org #3 4

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 4 too low 6

Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #8 9

Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11

Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #16 5 too low 12

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13

Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #13 ↑1 14

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #17 ↑4 3 too low 15

Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17

Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #4 13 too high 18

Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19

Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #11 8 too high 20

Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #24 4 too low 21

Notivo Notification for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (80) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 3 too high 22

Simple Login Notification 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #12 12 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.