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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “grab”

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 “grab”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 2 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

Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #8 ↑3 5 too low 4 Text Typing – grab attention with animated typing headlines 3K+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 URL Params 8K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #5 6 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #22 14 too low 9 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #20 ↑2 11 too low 10 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 Cool Flipbox – Shortcode & Gutenberg Block 5K+ · 4.8★ (103) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #23 ↓7 11 too low 13 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Carousel Slider 30K+ · 4.3★ (160) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 MaxSlider 6K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Video Popup Block – YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok Lightbox by WPZOOM 10K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 T4B News Ticker – Responsive News Scroller, Slider, and Animations 7K+ · 4.5★ (16) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 17 too high 20 Flipbox 2K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement 400+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #4 18 too high 23 Infobox 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Call To Action Customizable Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.