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

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

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Unlimited Product Labels and Product Badges for WooCommerce – Elegant Labels shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1148 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #7 5 too low 3

Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks 90K+ · 4.8★ (73) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Carousel Block – Showcase Images in Elegant Sliding Displays 7K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #2 3 too high 6

Meow Lightbox 10K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #11 5 too low 7

Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #3 5 too high 9

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

Simple Divi Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #8 2 too high 11

WP Menu Icons 20K+ · 4.9★ (139) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #12 1 too high 14

WP Video Lightbox 30K+ · 4.3★ (67) wp.org #14 15

Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #9 6 too high 16

Video Popup – Video Lightbox for YouTube, Vimeo & MP4 10K+ · 4.5★ (43) wp.org #18 2 too low 17

Surbma | Divi & Gravity Forms 9K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too low 18

Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #22 4 too low 19

Unlimited Product Labels and Product Badges for WooCommerce – Elegant Labels 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #4 15 too high 20

FV Simpler SEO 2K+ · 4.6★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #17 3 too high 21

Gutena Tabs 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high 23

Borderless – Addons and Templates for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too high 24

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.