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

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 stylesheet”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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 Site Logo shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #4 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 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 Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #1 2 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 4 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too low 5 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 WP Add Custom CSS 60K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Custom Global Variables 5K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Custom 404 Pro 7K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Machete 6K+ · 5.0★ (52) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Custom Site Logo 1K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Core Framework 10K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Custom Thank You Page for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Easy Custom Code (LESS/CSS/JS) – Live editing 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Advanced Custom CSS for Elementor 200+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑6 6 too high 24 Custom New User Email Template 200+ · 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.