wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp theme statistic”

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 theme statistic”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WP Theme Statistic shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 50+ 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #2 3

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5

WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #8 ↑4 9

WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237) wp.org #9 ↓1 10

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11

WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12

hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13

WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14

WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15

WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1472) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233) wp.org #19 20

WP-PostViews 90K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #20 21

Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22

WP Offload SES Lite 10K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23

WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #21 2 too high 24

WP Theme Statistic 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 13 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.