wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom title”
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 title”, 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
BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website shows at wp.org #18 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. 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 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #2 3 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 
Secondary Title 7K+ · 4.9★ (72)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↓1 9 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too high 10 
Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208)
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 
Hide Page And Post Title 40K+ · 3.6★ (54)
wp.org #6 5 too high 12 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 
Title and Nofollow For Links (Classic Editor) 10K+ · 4.5★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 
Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80)
wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 
Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓3 16 
List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 
Unique Title Checker 900+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 
Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #16 3 too high 20 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 
CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 
Change Price Title for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.8★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website 900+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 6 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.