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

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 “gradient”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. shows at wp.org #4 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 1K+ 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

Custom Login Page Customizer places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 476 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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 #5 4 too low 2 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #7 ↑2 5 too low 3 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too low 5 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #9 ↑3 4 too low 6 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 LMSCrafter Gradient Text for Elementor 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 9 too high 11 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #17 ↓7 5 too low 13 Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↑1 11 too high 14 Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 G Gradient Button for Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Piotnet Addons For Elementor 20K+ · 3.2★ (57) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 S Starter Templates by Gradient Themes 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↓1 17 too high 21 Custom Background Changer 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Text Unfold For Elementor 3K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 19 too high 24 Wavy Divider 700+ · 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.