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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp header”

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 header”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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.

W

Ranked above its merit

WP Display Header shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 27 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 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 #1 2 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #2 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #7 8 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too low 18 WP Header Images 4K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 W WP Display Header 7K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓3 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.