wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “blocks usage”

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

GSlider Blocks shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #1 2

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

Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #4 5

PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #5 6

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #6 7

Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

Custom Block Builder – Lazy Blocks 20K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #7 2 too high 10

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #22 12 too low 11

Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #16 5 too low 12

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #11 2 too high 14

Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #19 5 too low 15

Attributes for Blocks 4K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #12 3 too high 16

Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #10 6 too high 17

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

GutSlider – All in One Slider and Carousel Blocks for Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #13 5 too high 19

CP Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #14 5 too high 20

Blocks for ACF Fields — Display Custom Fields in the Block Editor 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #17 3 too high 21

Conditional Blocks – Advanced Content Visibility Control for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #18 3 too high 22

GSlider Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #15 8 too high 24

UiCore Blocks – Free WordPress Gutenberg Blocks 500+ · 3.7★ (3) 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.