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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dark mode toggle”

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 “dark mode toggle”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

DarkAdmin – Dark Mode for Adminpanel shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Loco Translate places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 453 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 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Dark Mode Toggle 2K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #3 4 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #4 5 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 Markdown Editor (Formerly Dark Mode) 1K+ · 3.3★ (86) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #21 ↑2 12 too low 10 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 DarkMySite – Advanced Dark Mode Plugin for WordPress 900+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15 Nocturne Dark Mode – Elementor Dark Mode Toggle for WordPress 200+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 AboveWP Admin Dark Mode 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 IfElse Pages – Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Dark Mode for Elementor – Global colors mapping 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑1 10 too high 19 SVisciano – Light-Dark Theme Mode 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Dark Mode Toggle Block 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Onyx Dark Mode Switcher 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Mawu Dark Mode for the Admin Dashboard, Editor & Website 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓4 24 DarkAdmin – Dark Mode for Adminpanel 100+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #11 13 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.