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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “decorative patterns”

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 “decorative patterns”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Block Accessibility Checks shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 90+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #1 2 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 3 Tableberg – Simple Gutenberg Table Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Block for Font Awesome Icons – Searchable Icon Picker, SVG, FA 7 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 ImgSEO – AI Image Alt Text Generator & Image SEO Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Wow Elements Addons for Elementor 50+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 FrontBlocks Site Tools 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Filikod – Alt Text Checker & Bulk Image Alt Text Editor 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 Squad Modules Lite – Free Divi 5 & Divi 4 Modules for Divi Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Blockons – Gutenberg blocks for WordPress and WooCommerce websites 700+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑1 14 Erdo Image Optimizer – Image SEO, AI Alt Text, Media Cleanup, WebP & AVIF 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓3 15 Section Blocks – Landing Page Sections for the Block Editor 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Alt Audit – Bulk Alt Text Manager & Image SEO 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Image Gallery Block – Showcase Photos in Stunning Responsive Grids 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 18 Block Accessibility Checks 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Auto Image Alt Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 GoDevs Blocks 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 PagePulse 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 CodeWP Shield Monitor 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 AICOM – AI Commander 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 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.