wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “css variables”
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 variables”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Show only lowest prices in variable products for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 28 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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.
CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #1 2 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS 1K+ · 4.8★ (90) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Add Admin CSS 10K+ · 4.9★ (35)
wp.org #5 6 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 
Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #8 ↑5 1 too high 10 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #18 ↑3 5 too low 14 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑5 15 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 
Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25)
wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 
WindPress – Tailwind CSS integration for WordPress 3K+ · 5.0★ (37)
wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 
Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
CC Child Pages 9K+ · 4.9★ (49)
wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Show only lowest prices in variable products for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (28) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 
Bricks Navigator 8K+ · 5.0★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24 
Variable Inspector 100+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.