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

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 “graphical”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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

Custom Price for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #1 2

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #2 3

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

WP Mail Log 10K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #5 6

Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #6 7

Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #7 8

EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9

Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter 10K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓2 12

Advanced iFrame 40K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13

Image and video gallery from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #12 1 too high 14

Chartify – WordPress Chart Plugin 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15

Visualizer – Tables & Charts Manager with Built-in AI Generator 20K+ · 4.4★ (225) not PHP-current wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Order Status History for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #16 17

Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Custom Price for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19

Sitelinks Search Box 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Raffle Ticket Generator – Woocommerce 100+ · 4.3★ (9) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 21

Multicons 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑1 22

Lang Attribute for the Block Editor 90+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 23

Carousel, Recent Post Slider and Banner Slider 7K+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #19 4 too high 24

Range Slider for Elementor Forms 300+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews 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.