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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “callout”

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 “callout”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 2 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

Commerce7 for WordPress shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PDF.js Viewer places #7 on merit, 4.4★ from 53 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Personizely — A/B Testing, Personalization, Popups & CRO 300+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #11 ↑2 5 too low 7 PDF.js Viewer 20K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Max Addons for Bricks Builder 1K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Video Callout 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↑1 8 too high 12 Singular Alerts – Create Beautiful Alerts and Notifications in Seconds 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓5 6 too high 13 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Subtle Icons – SVG Icon Block Suite, Icon Picker & ACF Field 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16 Commerce7 for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑1 12 too high 17 Flipbox Addon for Elementor 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 Section Blocks – Landing Page Sections for the Block Editor 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Sync Content From Notion 40+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 S ShortBuild 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too high 21 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 ExpertFile 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 A WP Life Companion 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 King Addons for Elementor – 100+ Elementor Widgets, 4 000+ Elementor Templates, WooCommerce Builder, Mega Menu, Popup Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓10 4 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.