wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “extend theme fields”
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 “extend theme fields”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Checkout Fields for Blocks shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #1 2 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #3 4 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #4 5 
Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
Flexible Product Fields (WooCommerce Product Addons) – WooCommerce Product Page Editor 10K+ · 4.5★ (106)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #13 4 too low 10 
Conditional Fields for Elementor Form – Apply Conditional Logic 10K+ · 4.7★ (32)
wp.org #5 5 too high 11 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #11 12 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #8 4 too high 13 
Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 100K+ · 4.8★ (109)
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80)
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Child Theme Configurator 300K+ · 4.7★ (280)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Input Mask For Elementor Form Fields 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #16 4 too high 21 
Image Aspect Ratio Crop Field for Advanced Custom Fields 20K+ · 4.8★ (26)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Checkout Fields for Blocks 1K+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #15 7 too high 23 
Comments Extra Fields For Post,Pages and CPT 500+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme 80K+ · 2.1★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 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.