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

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 “highlight”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Highlight Sitewide Notice, Text, Button Menu shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10+ 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

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4353 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Highlight Search Terms 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7304) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4121) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (405) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Highlight and Share – Unobtrusive and Lightweight Content Sharing 700+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (247) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Custom Highlight Color 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4353) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #12 13 Highlighting Code Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.7★ (2407) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2526) wp.org #20 ↓7 5 too low 16 Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter 10K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #19 ↑5 2 too low 18 BulletProof Security 20K+ · 4.8★ (674) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Syntax-highlighting Code Block (with Server-side Rendering) 1K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Countdown Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Highlight Sitewide Notice, Text, Button Menu 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 Glossary Tooltip – Auto-Highlight Terms & Show Tooltips 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑4 8 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.