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

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 components”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 3 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #3 4 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Custom Block Builder – Lazy Blocks 20K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Custom Layouts – Post + Product grids made easy 3K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 500K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #22 23 Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Custom Recovery Mode Email 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.