wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “about section.”
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 “about section.”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 400+ 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
Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Make Section & Column Clickable For Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #19 4 too low 16 
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251)
wp.org #16 17 
Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69)
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 B BU Section Editing 50+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #5 15 too high 21 
BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #13 8 too high 22 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #3 20 too high 24 
Section Blocks – Landing Page Sections for the Block Editor 10+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #22 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.