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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “filtered testimonials”

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 “filtered testimonials”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

Slider and Carousel Block – Responsive, Accessible shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 800+ 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

Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 521 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14380) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4126) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 BNE Testimonials 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1523) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (264) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Quick and Easy Testimonials 3K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 Random Content 3K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (521) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #11 12 FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Card Elements for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 Product Editor Pro – WooCommerce Bulk Edit: Prices, Stock, Images, Titles, CSV Import & More 1K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Squad Modules Lite – Free Divi 5 & Divi 4 Modules for Divi Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 Master Blocks – Ultimate Blocks for Marketers 100+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 RTMKit 40K+ · 2.7★ (16) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 SheetsPilot – AI Spreadsheet Bulk Edit for Posts, WooCommerce Products & SEO 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 DesignSetGo 7K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 Slider and Carousel Block – Responsive, Accessible 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 Sentio Widgets for Elementor 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Ultimate Bootstrap Elements for Elementor 6K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 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.