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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “card grid”

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 “card grid”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Card Elements for WPBakery shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 500+ 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

Unlimited Elements for Elementor places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 525 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 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #1 2 AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #2 ↑3 3 Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #12 ↓3 6 too low 7 WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #7 8 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #14 ↑8 4 too low 11 Product Carousel Slider & Grid Ultimate for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (33) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #19 ↓6 4 too low 16 Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↓1 13 too high 17 Grid Gallery – for Photo Gallery, Image Gallery & Portfolio 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 GS Posts Grid – Recent Posts, Category Posts, Post Filter, Slider & List 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 Card Elements for WPBakery 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 15 too high 21 Fancy Post Grid – Ultimate Post Grid Builder 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22 Tarot Card Oracle 100+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Flipping Cards 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 quqii – Social Media Feed Grid 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.