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

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 history”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Order Status History for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #1 2

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #2 3

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #8 5 too low 4

Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #4 5

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #10 5 too low 6

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

WindPress – Tailwind CSS integration for WordPress 3K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Product Price History for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #3 6 too high 10

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #13 2 too low 12

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808) wp.org #11 1 too high 13

Order Status History for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #5 8 too high 14

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #17 3 too low 15

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #16 1 too low 16

Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #18 2 too low 17

Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #19 2 too low 18

Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Visibility Logic for Elementor 20K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #23 4 too low 20

Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #20 21

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #14 7 too high 22

Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.