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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “block designs”

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 “block designs”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

VK Block Patterns shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 100K+ 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

Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 522 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 3 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #3 4 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #4 5 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #5 6 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #8 ↑7 1 too low 8 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #17 ↑1 8 too low 10 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #18 ↑2 7 too low 12 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #11 ↓5 1 too high 13 Gutenverse – WordPress Blocks, Page Builder & Site Editor 20K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #20 ↑1 7 too low 14 SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Block Editor Colors 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Create Block Theme 20K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 Easy Tabs Block – Smart, Lightweight & Responsive Tabs for the Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 VK Block Patterns 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑1 17 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.