Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “xml”, 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 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

Stop XML-RPC Attacks shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #3 ↓2 4 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 D Disable XML-RPC 200K+ · 4.1★ (34) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #23 ↓14 11 too low 13 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #20 ↓3 7 too low 14 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #18 ↓6 4 too low 15 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Simple XML Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too high 17 Stop XML-RPC Attacks 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑2 8 too high 18 XML for Google Merchant Center 3K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too high 19 Import XML and RSS Feeds 2K+ · 3.8★ (24) wp.org #19 20 Dropshipping XML for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 XML Feed for Skroutz & BestPrice for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Simple Disable XML-RPC 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 ANAC XML Viewer 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 XML Sitemaps Manager 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑2 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.