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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom color”

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 “custom color”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Editor Custom Color Palette shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin Custom Login places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #2 3 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too low 7 Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401) wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too low 8 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Custom Highlight Color 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 ↑1 6 too high 10 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Block Editor Colors 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #11 ↑2 2 too high 14 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 Fourteen Colors 8K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Genesis Custom Blocks 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #21 ↓10 3 too low 19 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Contextual Adminbar Color 500+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Default Admin Color Scheme 800+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Editor Custom Color Palette 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 15 too high 23 YITH Color and Label Variations for WooCommerce 9K+ · 3.6★ (22) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Custom Icons for Elementor and WPBakery 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.