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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “art direction”

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 “art direction”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Responsive Picture Block shows at wp.org #4 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 40+ 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 #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Presswell Art Direction 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Adaptive Images for WordPress 3K+ · 4.7★ (56) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #24 19 too low 6 Serial Numbers – Ultimate License Manager for Selling, Licensing & Securely Delivering Digital Content with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android 700+ · 4.2★ (90) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 Arts Horizontal Scroll for Elementor 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 11 WP Before After Image Slider – Interactive Image and Video Comparison Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Responsive Picture Block 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Genolve – AI Business Graphics, Images & Video 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Admin Menus Fixed 100+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Easy Map – Store Locator, OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Mapbox 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑3 2 too high 16 Arts Immersive Lightbox for Elementor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 DEL Embed for Bandcamp 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Media Pair — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Arianne G Esotools 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Selytho Page Flip Creator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Izubizu Slider — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 ScoreContent AI Writer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Consentinel Cookie Consent 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 ArtistPress 10+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.