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

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 table”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 254 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #1 2 WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Flexible Table Block 40K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #6 7 Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Product Table for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (295) wp.org #8 9 Ninja Tables – Easy Data Table Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Pricing Table by Supsystic – Responsive Pricing Plans & Comparison Tables 10K+ · 4.1★ (288) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #17 ↑5 4 too low 14 Tiered Pricing Table for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (104) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 FlexTable – Data Table Sync with Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Responsive Pricing Table 10K+ · 4.6★ (91) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Pricing Table – Responsive & Easy 3K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Table Addons for Elementor 20K+ · 3.2★ (19) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 Table Of Content Block – Auto-Generate Clickable Table of Contents 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Pricing Table – Block – Show Product or Service Pricing in Table Format 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 A Attributes Table 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.