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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bundled theme”

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 “bundled theme”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 80K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.1★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 418 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 3 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Fourteen Colors 8K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #6 7 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #16 ↓3 6 too low 11 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #12 13 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too high 15 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #21 ↓3 6 too low 16 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #14 ↓4 2 too high 17 Export Themes 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Better Font Awesome 60K+ · 4.5★ (88) wp.org #18 ↓6 19 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #23 ↓3 4 too low 20 M Chart 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 ThemeZee Widget Bundle 5K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 Double Youpï Refined Admin Dashboard – Admin Theme with Dark Mode & Media Folders 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme 80K+ · 2.1★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.