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

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 “colorful”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Wavy Divider shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 700+ 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

PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 204 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Colorful Categories 2K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Estatik Real Estate Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (187) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 HTML5 Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Timetable and Event Schedule by MotoPress 30K+ · 4.3★ (69) wp.org #7 8 Contact Form Block 600+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #8 9 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #19 ↑1 10 too low 10 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Chartify – WordPress Chart Plugin 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13 Ultimate FAQ Solution 600+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 F4 Post Tree 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Photo Gallery by Ays – Responsive Image Gallery 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 DWL Preloader 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Wavy Divider 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Amazing Affiliates – Toolkit for Amazon Associates with Amazon Product Blocks and Amazon PAAPI5 / Creators API integration 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Move Addons for Elementor 2K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Mox Icons – Icon Pack for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Candy Social Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Interactive UK Map 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Interactive Australia Map 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 PDF InvoiceX 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.