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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bio box”

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 “bio box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20.

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

Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1511 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #3 4 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #9 ↓3 3 too low 7 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too low 11 Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511) wp.org #20 ↑3 9 too low 12 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #17 ↑7 5 too low 13 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Starbox – the Author Box for Humans 10K+ · 4.5★ (203) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 Team Members 20K+ · 4.2★ (53) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20 Logo Showcase with Logo Carousel, Logo Slider & Logo Grid 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Author Box & Pages for E-E-A-T Optimization 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22 Cite This Article – Author Box & Citation 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 RS Author Info Box 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Author Bio On Hover – Author Box 40+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 9 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.