wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dashboard widgets”

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 “dashboard widgets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

Analytify – Dashboard Widget for Google Analytics shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 88 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2

Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #2 3

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5

Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114) wp.org #5 6

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 4 too high 8

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too high 10

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #19 9 too low 11

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #18 ↑3 7 too low 12

WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #23 11 too low 13

Widget Disable 10K+ · 4.8★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15

Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #15 16

Widgets for Airbnb Reviews 6K+ · 4.6★ (60) wp.org #20 4 too low 17

Astra Widgets 200K+ · 3.9★ (17) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 ↓3 5 too high 19 D Dashboard Commander 800+ · 4.8★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20

Dashboard Welcome for Elementor 10K+ · 4.1★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #17 3 too high 21

Dashboard To-Do List 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 22

Analytify – Dashboard Widget for Google Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23

Video Dashboard 600+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

Essential Widgets 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #16 8 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.