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

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 “expand”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Read More Button – Expand Content Without Refresh shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ 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

Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 729 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce & WordPress Tabs Builder – Smart Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 E Expand Tabs for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too low 5 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 OoohBoi Steroids for Elementor 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Read More Without Refresh 20K+ · 4.2★ (55) wp.org #8 9 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too low 10 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 E Expanding Archives 3K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 Modern Footnotes 6K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 WEBKINDER Integration for Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Lord of the Files: Enhanced Upload Security 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Text Unfold For Elementor 3K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Heroic Table of Contents 5K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Expandable Row for Beaver Builder 900+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 12 too high 20 Accordions – Responsive Accordion & FAQ Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Easy Expand 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Read More Button – Expand Content Without Refresh 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 13 too high 23 BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Simple Expand – Lightweight Read more toggle 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 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.