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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “html blocks”

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 “html blocks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

VK Blocks shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #1 2 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #2 3 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Insert Html Snippet 20K+ · 4.9★ (237) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #13 ↓3 6 too low 8 HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too low 10 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter 60K+ · 4.4★ (110) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #6 ↓2 6 too high 13 Custom Block Builder – Lazy Blocks 20K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #15 ↓6 2 too low 14 HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #10 ↓3 5 too high 16 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #24 ↓5 8 too low 17 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #17 ↓2 18 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20 Attributes for Blocks 4K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Hierarchical HTML Sitemap 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 Kwayy HTML Sitemap 6K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.