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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “flexbox layout”

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 “flexbox layout”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

Magical Blocks – Elementor Style Blocks for Gutenberg shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Logo Slider WP – Responsive Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery & Logo Showcase 10K+ · 4.5★ (61) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Visibility Logic for Elementor 20K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Flexy Breadcrumb 10K+ · 4.7★ (20) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Style Kits for Elementor 10K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Album Gallery for Flickr 4K+ · 3.9★ (86) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Gantry 5 Framework 7K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Premium Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates 2K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #18 19 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Magical Blocks – Elementor Style Blocks for Gutenberg 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 AI website builder for the block editor and Elementor – Advanced Addons 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.