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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “display 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 “display widgets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Essential Widgets shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 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 #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 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 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 #4 1 too low 4 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8 Widget Content Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #8 9 Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109) wp.org #11 ↑9 2 too low 10 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Widgets for Airbnb Reviews 6K+ · 4.6★ (60) wp.org #14 ↑7 3 too low 12 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #21 ↓8 9 too low 13 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 WP Tripadvisor Review Widgets 20K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #19 ↓8 5 too low 15 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Widgets for Booking.com Reviews 9K+ · 4.9★ (65) wp.org #22 ↓8 6 too low 17 Events Widgets For Elementor And The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.5★ (108) wp.org #18 ↑6 1 too low 18 Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #9 ↑6 9 too high 19 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too high 20 Bangla Date Display 4K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Essential Widgets 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 14 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.