wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content panel”
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 panel”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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
MAS Static Content shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10K+ 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
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 7322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #6 3 too low 4 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Flexible Editor Panel for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (74)
wp.org #5 6 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 4 too high 9 
Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #2 7 too high 10 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 
Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103)
wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 5 too high 15 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Toolkit for Polylang – Translation Inspector & Duplicate Content 10K+ · 4.5★ (33)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 5 too high 20 
Restrict – membership, site, content and user access restrictions for WordPress 2K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Content Mask 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 
Essential Content Types 20K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 MAS Static Content 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #10 13 too high 24 
Slidey Panel 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
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.