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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “astra”

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 “astra”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 19 of the top 20. 3 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

Home Page Banner for Astra Theme shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1148 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 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 Astra Widgets 200K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too low 4 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too low 5 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Astra Hooks 20K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #13 ↑6 6 too low 8 WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Astra Customizer Reset 20K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #20 ↑3 9 too low 12 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Astra Bulk Edit 30K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 Astra Theme Visual Hooks 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Import / Export Customizer Settings 50K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Custom Adobe Fonts (Typekit) 60K+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Stick My Header for Astra 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Home Page Banner for Astra Theme 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.