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

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 “highlights”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Custom Highlight Color shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Highlight Search Terms 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too low 7 Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #13 ↑3 3 too low 11 Highlight and Share – Unobtrusive and Lightweight Content Sharing 700+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too low 13 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #14 ↓4 1 too high 16 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #11 ↓2 7 too high 19 Custom Highlight Color 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 ↓1 13 too high 20 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #20 ↑2 21 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Countdown Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Glossary Tooltip – Highlight Terms & Show Tooltips 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 CC-Syntax-Highlight 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.