wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “assign 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 “assign widgets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 300K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 79 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 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.
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #1 2 
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51)
wp.org #2 2 too high 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #10 ↑5 2 too low 9 
Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212)
wp.org #11 ↓1 12 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #16 4 too low 13 
Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27)
wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79)
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
Perfect Brands for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.7★ (414)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348)
wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 
MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147)
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 
WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 
One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) host-installed base
wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.