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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “css designer”

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 “css designer”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4755 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #1 2 Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #2 3 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #4 5 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #6 7 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87) wp.org #8 ↓3 9 Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too low 11 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #11 ↓3 12 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too high 15 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 9MAIL – WordPress Email Templates Designer 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 BlogLentor – Blog Designer Pack for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too low 18 WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Block Designer – Create Custom Blocks for Gutenberg Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 MyStyle Custom Product Designer 50+ · 3.9★ (13) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 DC Login Designer 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑3 8 too high 23 WP Designer – Professional WordPress Design & Customization Tool 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 Product Designer App 100+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑4 6 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.