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

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 “xsl”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

Pretty RSS Feeds shows at wp.org #2 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 30+ 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

Autoptimize places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 1428 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #1 2 SuperFlare Cache – Cloudflare Cache & Auto-Purging 60+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #19 ↑4 16 too low 4 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #21 17 too low 5 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #24 19 too low 6 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #22 ↓2 16 too low 7 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Data Diagrams: Visual Chart Editor for WordPress 10+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Pretty RSS Feeds 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Prime SEO – AI SEO, LLMs.txt Generator, AI Bots Manager & AI Crawler Stats 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 T Ten&Two XSLT Processor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Hack The SEO – MCP Server for Claude, AI Bot Tracker, llms.txt, GEO Score & Cannibalization 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Magics SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Deviser AI Search Booster – Site Context Manager for llms — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 XML Nest Creator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Static Cache Wrangler 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Super Duper SEO Title and Description 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Elevoire SEO Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Rank Pro SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 DMValdez Semantic Engine — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Deklera – E-Rechnung, XRechnung & KSeF for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 MUQ SEO Site Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 AljiSitemap — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Flexa SEO – AEO | AI SEO & Answer Engine Optimization — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.