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

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 loader”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 4 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

AboveWP Page Loader shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

GEO my WP places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 139 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #1 2 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #7 8 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #8 ↑3 9 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too low 12 GEO my WP 3K+ · 4.6★ (139) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 WP Coupons and Deals – WordPress Coupon Plugin 1K+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 WPGraphQL 30K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 The WP Remote WordPress Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (74) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 AMP WP – Google AMP For WordPress 600+ · 4.5★ (55) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 WP Ultimate Post Grid 4K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 WP-Lister Lite for Amazon 800+ · 3.9★ (22) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 WP Safe Mode 2K+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too high 20 Ajax loader + Cache 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 Quick Ajax Post Loader 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 AboveWP Page Loader 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 Icons Font Loader – use web icons anywhere on your site, fast 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓6 11 too high 24 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.