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

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 theme”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rich Showcase for Google Reviews places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. 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 #1 2 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too low 4 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #5 ↓3 6 Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Dark Mode Toggle 2K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 DarkLooks – Dark Mode Switcher For WordPress 800+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #6 ↑1 5 too high 12 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #20 ↓6 8 too low 13 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #19 ↑3 6 too low 14 Markdown Editor (Formerly Dark Mode) 1K+ · 3.3★ (86) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 DarkMySite – Advanced Dark Mode Plugin for WordPress 900+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #24 ↓8 8 too low 17 Double Youpï Refined Admin Dashboard – Admin Theme with Dark Mode & Media Folders 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 SVisciano – Light-Dark Theme Mode 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 AboveWP Admin Dark Mode 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓3 8 too high 21 A Arile Extra 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22 Dark Mode for Elementor – Global colors mapping 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑6 4 too high 23 Onyx Dark Mode Switcher 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓5 24 DarkAdmin – Dark Mode for Adminpanel 100+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓4 3 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.