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← Rankings

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

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 “corner”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Smartarget Corner Ribbon shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 30+ 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

Custom Login Page Customizer places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 476 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Corner Ad 300+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #1 2 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #10 ↓4 8 too low 3 Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too low 4 Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 E Error Log Monitor 20K+ · 4.3★ (48) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 WP Image Zoom 10K+ · 4.3★ (119) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 Advanced Popups 60K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #6 ↑1 6 too high 13 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 Real3D Flipbook – 3D Flipbook, PDF Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 10K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too high 15 Currency Converter Calculator 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16 Event Countdown for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 Smartarget Corner Ribbon 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 15 too high 18 CP Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 CoolClock 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑2 9 too high 21 Social Sharing Plugin – Kiwi 4K+ · 4.1★ (18) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Announcement & Notification Banner – Bulletin 2K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Iconic Copy Text Blocks 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑2 9 too high 24 Before After Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑2 8 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.