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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “advanced widgets”

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 widgets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 5 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 #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 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

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 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) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #3 ↑4 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #16 ↑3 6 too low 11 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 Advanced WordPress Backgrounds 30K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too high 13 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Advanced iFrame 40K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Advanced Queries 10K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too high 16 Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Advanced Woo Search – Product Search for WooCommerce 60K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 Advanced Woo Labels – Product Labels & Badges for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (64) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Advanced Import 80K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓1 13 too high 23 Events Widgets For Elementor And The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.5★ (108) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Classic Editor and Classic Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.