wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “advanced widget”
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 “advanced widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Advanced Import shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 80K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #1 2 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 
Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too high 10 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #17 ↑5 6 too low 12 
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191)
wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 
Advanced WordPress Backgrounds 30K+ · 4.8★ (44)
wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 
Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #15 ↑1 16 
Advanced iFrame 40K+ · 4.4★ (54)
wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 
Advanced Queries 10K+ · 4.9★ (40)
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
Advanced Woo Search – Product Search for WooCommerce 60K+ · 4.8★ (248) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19 
Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37)
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 
WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51)
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 
Advanced Woo Labels – Product Labels & Badges for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (64) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 Advanced Import 80K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #10 14 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.