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

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 rocket”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.

Ranked above its merit

Rocket Font – 한글 shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1720 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 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #1 2 WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #2 3 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #3 4 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #6 7 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too high 18 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 Slim Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 5.0★ (63) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 Social Rocket – Social Sharing Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Rocket Font – 한글 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 SEO Rocket Integration 100+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.