wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp code”
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 “wp code”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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
WP Hide & Security Enhancer shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 275 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #2 3 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too high 10 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #10 ↑3 11 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #11 ↑5 12 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #14 ↑3 2 too low 13 
FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #12 ↑3 1 too high 14 
WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014)
wp.org #21 ↑2 7 too low 15 
Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #20 ↓6 3 too low 18 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #16 ↓5 2 too high 19 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #17 ↑4 2 too high 20 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51)
wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑7 7 too high 23 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35)
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.