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

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 “behance”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Easy Share Solution For WordPress shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 900+ 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

Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 91 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 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Behance Portfolio Manager 300+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #4 5 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #5 6 Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173) wp.org #6 7 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Solid Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Video Testimonials & Customer Reviews 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #9 ↑11 4 too high 14 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Social Divi 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Superb Social Media Share Buttons and Follow Buttons 6K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 WP Social Widget 4K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 Meks Smart Social Widget 10K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Easy Share Solution For WordPress 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 WDV About Me Widget 800+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 WPSSO Schema Organization and Place Manager 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.