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← Rankings

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

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 “collections”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

WPC Smart Product Collections for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 ↓2 2 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #3 ↑5 1 too low 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too low 6 GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 ↑3 1 too low 10 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #13 ↑5 3 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #18 ↑6 3 too low 16 Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (297) wp.org #21 ↓11 5 too low 17 Performance Lab 100K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #15 ↑8 2 too high 18 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too low 19 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 User Post Collections 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 WPC Smart Product Collections for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓3 19 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.