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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “2d customization”

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 “2d customization”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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

TNC FlipBook 3D – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder shows at wp.org #7 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 133 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #1 2 Real3D Flipbook – 3D Flipbook, PDF Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 10K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #2 3 Album Photostream Flickr Gallery 1K+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #3 4 Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #5 6 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 Social Media Icon Widget – Social Profile Links with Gutenberg Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 PausAR – 3D and AR for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 9 Blockera Site Builder – Responsive Blocks, Block States, and everything Gutenberg is missing 100+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 WCB | WP Configurator Builder – Product Configurators Made Simple 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 TNC FlipBook 3D – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 S Search SKU to Product page 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Smart Customizer for WooCommerce 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 SmartEmbed – PDF Viewer, 3D Flipbook, and Secure PDF Embedder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 KR Customizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 Plato Gallery – Quick and Easy for VR, AR, and Metaverse Galleries 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 Baba 3D Gallery for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 Asuka Product Designer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 Notionsify — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 SudoMock Product Customizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Mimeeq – 3D Product Configurator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Arashtad 3D Loader — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Models3D Studio – 3D Product Viewer & Configurator for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 ButtonZ – Elementor Addon 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.