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

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 “captivate”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

Info Cards – Add Text and Media in Card Layouts shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ 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.

Buried gem

Bricksable for Bricks Builder places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 61 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #5 ↑5 4 too low 2 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Captivate Sync 1K+ · 3.2★ (10) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 AudioIgniter Music Player 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #13 ↑9 8 too low 6 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #14 ↑2 8 too low 7 Podcast Importer SecondLine 4K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Bricksable for Bricks Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (61) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Topic Progression Using Storyline/Captivate for LearnDash 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Video Playlist for YouTube 1K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too high 12 Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 8 too high 13 Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #17 ↑3 4 too low 14 Carousel Block – Showcase Images in Elegant Sliding Displays 7K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too high 15 Image Hover Effects For WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #21 ↓2 6 too low 16 Lookzy LookBook for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Info Cards – Add Text and Media in Card Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 WP Menu Image 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Ultimate Carousel For Divi 700+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #10 ↑2 9 too high 20 Experience API for TutorLMS by GrassBlade 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Ovation Elements 10K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Experience API for LifterLMS by Grassblade 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Experience API for LearnPress by GrassBlade 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 360 Product Viewer for WooCommerce 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 6 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.