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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “add html”

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 “add html”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

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 it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WP Simple HTML Sitemap shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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 Insert Html Snippet 20K+ · 4.9★ (237) wp.org #1 2 HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57) wp.org #2 3 HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter 60K+ · 4.4★ (110) wp.org #3 4 HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #4 5 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6 Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87) wp.org #9 ↓6 3 too low 7 Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 A Allow HTML in Category Descriptions 8K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Hierarchical HTML Sitemap 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too low 12 Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13 Kwayy HTML Sitemap 6K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 WP Simple HTML Sitemap 3K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 A Add MIME Types 50K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 CSV to HTML 300+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #24 ↓4 5 too low 20 Add Customer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #20 21 YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons 20K+ · 3.7★ (57) wp.org #18 ↓3 3 too high 22 Add Any Extension to Pages 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 AI to Elementor — HTML Importer for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too high 24 HTML Page Publisher 500+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.