Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “demo”

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 “demo”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

Demo Importer Plus shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10K+ 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

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 926 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) wp.org #1 2 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #11 ↑2 9 too low 3 Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill 70K+ · 4.7★ (197) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too low 5 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #15 ↓1 10 too low 6 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #14 ↑4 8 too low 7 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #17 ↑3 9 too low 9 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #18 ↓5 9 too low 10 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #23 ↓7 12 too low 12 Easy Demo Importer – A Modern One-Click Demo Import Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 F FameTheme Demo Importer 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 11 too high 14 Rara One Click Demo Import 20K+ · 2.7★ (7) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 ST Demo Importer 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Demo Importer Plus 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Blaze Demo Importer 7K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑5 1 too low 19 HashThemes Demo Importer 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 TS Demo Importer 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 Mystery Themes Demo Importer 6K+ · 2.0★ (4) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 F Flawless Themes Demo Importer 1K+ · 2.3★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Crafthemes Demo Import 400+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 Catch Themes Demo Import 5K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.