wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content block”
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 “content block”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Table Of Content Block – Auto-Generate Clickable Table of Contents shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 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
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 
SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77)
wp.org #3 ↑4 1 too low 3 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 
Widget Content Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (60)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #1 ↑1 5 too high 7 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #13 ↑6 5 too low 9 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↓6 10 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↑12 2 too high 11 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #15 4 too low 12 
Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80)
wp.org #12 ↓2 13 
Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108)
wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 
The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29)
wp.org #11 3 too high 15 
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint
wp.org #20 ↓6 2 too low 19 
Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Table Of Content Block – Auto-Generate Clickable Table of Contents 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓9 1 too high 24 
VK Block Patterns 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑2 5 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.