wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp faq”
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 faq”, 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
CloudSecure WP Security shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100K+ 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
WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 594 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #1 2 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #4 5 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 
WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268)
wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 
Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594)
wp.org #20 ↑2 8 too low 13 
WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565)
wp.org #18 ↓3 5 too low 14 
Helpie FAQ — Accordion, Docs & Knowledge Base 8K+ · 4.5★ (80)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272)
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
Ultimate FAQ Accordion Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (439)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Happy FAQs – FAQ, Product FAQ & Help Center 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #9 9 too high 19 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too high 20 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #15 ↑4 5 too high 21 
WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 F FAQ Block For Gutenberg 4K+ · 4.4★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 
SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 CloudSecure WP Security 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #10 14 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.