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

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 “expandable”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 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

Accordion – Organize Content into Clean Collapsible Sections shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 600+ 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

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 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too low 2 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #11 ↑2 7 too low 5 Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Expandable Row for Beaver Builder 900+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #1 6 too high 8 Fusion Page Builder 3K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Expandable Paywall 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 E Expanding Archives 3K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓2 5 too high 12 Currency Converter Widget 2K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Floating Contact Button for MAX and Telegram 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 Advanced Accordion Gutenberg Block – Create Beautiful FAQs, Content Accordions & Interactive Tabs 9K+ · 4.1★ (34) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 Collapsing Categories 4K+ · 4.1★ (57) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 Timeline Module for Beaver Builder 2K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Timed Content For Beaver Builder 900+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 WP SpeedUp 200+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 20 Options for Block Themes 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Cards for Beaver Builder 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Expandable Dashboard Recent Comments 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Accordion – Organize Content into Clean Collapsible Sections 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 WPCasa Advanced Search 600+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 11 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.