wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom page”
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 page”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally shows at wp.org #12 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 62 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1028 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
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 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Duplicate Page 3M+ · 4.8★ (466)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #8 ↓4 1 too low 8 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too high 10 
Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285)
wp.org #16 ↓5 6 too low 11 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
WP Sitemap Page 200K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too high 18 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too high 19 
Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 
Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 
Duplicate Page and Post 70K+ · 4.6★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #19 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.