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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hello themes”

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 “hello themes”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Hello Plus shows at wp.org #1 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 23 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 716 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Estatik Real Estate Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (187) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #9 ↑2 5 too low 5 Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #12 ↓3 6 too low 7 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #10 ↑6 2 too low 9 BEW – Elementor Addons, Templates & AI Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #13 ↓5 3 too low 11 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #11 ↑6 2 too high 14 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too low 16 WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) wp.org #18 ↓5 2 too low 17 Add to Cart Ajax for Hello Elementor 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 14 too high 18 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 Conditional Fields for Elementor Form – Apply Conditional Logic 10K+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Cool FormKit Lite – Advanced Form Builder for Elementor 20K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 FormsDB – Save Elementor Forms to Google Sheets & Post Type 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 Spexo Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets, Mega Menu, Popup Builder, Template Kits and Starter Templates for Elementor 6K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓5 7 too high 23 Hello Bar Popup Builder 3K+ · 1.6★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 Hello Plus 70K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #1 23 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.