wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “facebook navigation”
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 “facebook navigation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Pixel Cat – Conversion Pixel Manager shows at wp.org #3 but places #8 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 41 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #1 2 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #2 3 
Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #6 7 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Pixel Cat – Conversion Pixel Manager 40K+ · 4.0★ (41)
wp.org #3 5 too high 9 
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #11 ↑6 1 too high 13 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872)
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 
Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79)
wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20 
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #22 23 
Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90)
wp.org #23 24 
Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35)
wp.org #21 3 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.