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

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 “demos”, we agree with wp.org 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.

F

Ranked above its merit

FameTheme Demo Importer shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 30K+ 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

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 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 One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) wp.org #1 2 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #5 ↑3 2 too low 4 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #10 ↓4 4 too low 7 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #9 ↓5 2 too low 8 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #12 ↓5 2 too low 11 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #15 ↑6 4 too low 12 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #22 ↓6 8 too low 15 Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill 70K+ · 4.7★ (197) wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too low 16 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 F FameTheme Demo Importer 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↑1 16 too high 19 Easy Demo Importer – A Modern One-Click Demo Import Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑2 8 too high 20 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑4 14 too high 21 Rara One Click Demo Import 20K+ · 2.7★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 ST Demo Importer 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Demo Importer Plus 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑3 15 too high 24 Mystery Themes Demo Importer 6K+ · 2.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.