Plugin Pulse Beta
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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress publishing”

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 publishing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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.

T

Ranked above its merit

Tilda-publishing shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery places #9 on merit, 4.3★ from 4342 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 wp.org
1 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #1 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #2 3 Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation 50K+ · 4.8★ (1940) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #4 5 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 WordPress Beta Tester 2K+ · 4.0★ (47) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 PublishPress Checklists: Pre-Publishing Approval Checklist – Validate Post Requirements 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Sentry for WordPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Quiz Cat – WordPress Quiz Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #19 ↑2 5 too low 15 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 Podlove Podcast Publisher 3K+ · 4.3★ (45) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Easy Post Submission – Frontend Posting, Guest Publishing & Submit Content for WordPress 4K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓2 10 too high 18 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 T Tilda-publishing 700+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) 100K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Verge3D Publishing and E-Commerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 EDU Results Publishing – Student Result Management 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 S Skyword Publishing API 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 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.