wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “beaver builder permalink”
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 “beaver builder permalink”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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
Xpro Portfolio For Beaver Builder – Lite shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 391 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #1 2 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #2 3 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125)
wp.org #7 ↑4 1 too low 7 
Blocksy Companion 300K+ · 4.7★ (93)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 
GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) heavy footprint
wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #12 ↑3 3 too low 10 
Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) not PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓2 11 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391)
wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too low 12 
OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213)
wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13 
Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 
Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 
LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 
Spotlight Social Photo Feed 60K+ · 4.7★ (171)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #20 21 
Upsell Funnel Builder for WooCommerce – Create Upsells, Cross-Sells, Order Bumps, Frequently Bought, and Popups. 2K+ · 4.7★ (116) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 
WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too high 23 Xpro Portfolio For Beaver Builder – Lite 60+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑3 8 too high 24 
Commerce7 for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 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.