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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “display widget”

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 “display widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #12 ↑9 4 too low 9 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too low 10 Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #6 ↑3 4 too high 11 Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #23 ↓9 8 too low 16 WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too high 17 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18 Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #9 ↑3 9 too high 19 GR Widget – Google Reviews Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 ↑2 6 too high 20 Display Eventbrite Events 2K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Tagembed: Social Media Feeds and Customer Reviews Widget 9K+ · 3.9★ (62) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Bangla Date Display 4K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.