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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “color section”

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 “color section”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 2K+ 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

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too low 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #9 7 too low 3 Services Section Block – present your services in clean grids and columns 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too low 5 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #10 ↑4 4 too low 7 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #15 ↑7 8 too low 8 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #18 ↑3 9 too low 10 Block Editor Colors 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Custom Highlight Color 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #21 ↓3 8 too low 14 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #22 ↓6 8 too low 15 Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 16 too high 19 Video Background Block – Add Stunning Video Backgrounds to Any Section 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 15 too high 21 Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Ultimate WooCommerce Filters 500+ · 3.7★ (14) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Editor Custom Color Palette 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24 Team Section Block – Showcase Team Members with Layout Options 1K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #8 16 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.