wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “css wordpress”
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 wordpress”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
WordPress Importer shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 327 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #3 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
SiteOrigin CSS 100K+ · 4.9★ (153)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #12 3 too low 10 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 
Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84)
wp.org #17 2 too low 16 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #21 5 too low 17 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92)
wp.org #18 1 too high 20 WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327)
wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 
Simple CSS 80K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
GravityWP – CSS Selector 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #15 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.