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

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 generator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Image & Video XML Sitemap shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1268 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #1 2 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #2 3 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Companion Sitemap Generator – Simple, Smart, and SEO-Ready 6K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10 Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 Simple XML Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #17 ↑4 1 too low 17 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #21 ↓11 4 too low 18 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 ImgSEO – AI Image Alt Text Generator & Image SEO Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Custom Sitemap Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Image & Video XML Sitemap 300+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too high 23 SEO Landing Page Generator 50+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Lightweight Sitemap Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.