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

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

Commerce7 for WordPress shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 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 #6 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 2 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #2 3 Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 Easy Notification Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 PDF.js Viewer 20K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too low 7 Personizely — A/B Testing, Personalization, Popups & CRO 300+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Max Addons for Bricks Builder 1K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Singular Alerts – One Gorgeous Alert Block and Alert Shortcode 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓3 6 too high 13 Commerce7 for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↑1 10 too high 14 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 Ansar Import – Starter Sites & Template Library 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Subtle Icons – SVG Icon Block Suite, Icon Picker & ACF Field 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓3 6 too high 17 Flipbox Addon for Elementor 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too high 18 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Video Callout 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20 Sync Content From Notion 40+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 ExpertFile 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 A WP Life Companion 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 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 3 too high 24 One Click Blocks For Elementor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.