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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “360 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 “360 generator”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor shows at wp.org #9 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Performance Lab places #11 on merit, 4.3★ from 51 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 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8 WCFM – Frontend Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (286) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Image Slider 4K+ · 3.4★ (31) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Performance Lab 100K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #23 ↓1 12 too low 12 PausAR – 3D and AR for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Unlock Addons for Elementor 70+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Verge3D Publishing and E-Commerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 FWD Easy 360 Product Viewer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 immonex Kickstart for Elementor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 FWD Video Player 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too high 19 WunderPaint – The Dynamic Design and Automation Studio 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 ZW Player Video Embed 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 tsParticles WP Block 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 ThemeREX Auto Dealer 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 Teanco Video Player Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Copyright AI Content Licensing – Block AI Crawlers + Get Paid 30+ · 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.