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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “feature box”

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 “feature box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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

Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ 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

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #4 5 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #6 7 Popup Box – Easily Create WordPress Popups 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #20 ↑1 12 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #18 ↑2 9 too low 10 Author Box WP Lens 900+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #24 ↓2 13 too low 12 Easy Social Like Box – Popup – Sidebar Widget 6K+ · 4.4★ (18) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too high 13 Coupzy Coupon Box for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #21 ↑2 7 too low 15 Gallery Box 1K+ · 4.1★ (18) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 Social Like Box and Page by WpDevArt 5K+ · 4.2★ (88) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 Sitelinks Search Box 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Counter Box – Add Countdowns, Timers & Dynamic Counters to WordPress 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder 2K+ · 3.5★ (10) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 Service Box 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too low 22 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Service Box Slider 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑2 12 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.