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

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 elements”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

Ovation Elements shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 401 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #2 3 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #3 4 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too low 9 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #18 ↓10 7 too low 12 Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too high 15 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #15 ↓3 16 Elements Plus! 6K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 Card Elements for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Elements Hive for Breakdance 1K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #16 ↑7 3 too high 20 BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑2 2 too low 21 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑2 10 too high 22 Ovation Elements 10K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 13 too high 23 Card Elements for WPBakery 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑2 9 too high 24 Custom Icons for Elementor and WPBakery 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.