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

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 plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #1 2

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3

Block Plugin Update 5K+ · 4.4★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓2 5

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #8 ↑11 3 too low 6

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #6 ↑6 7

The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9

Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #9 ↓3 10

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #10 ↓6 11

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #14 ↑3 3 too low 12

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #7 5 too high 13

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #16 ↓7 3 too low 14

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #13 ↓5 2 too high 16

Flexible Table Block 40K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #12 ↓5 4 too high 17

Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #18 19

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #21 ↓8 2 too low 20

SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21

BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22

Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 23

Gmap Block 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

VK Block Patterns 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 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.