wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “html element”
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 element”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
LA-Studio Element Kit for Elementor shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #1 2 
Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284)
wp.org #2 3 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter 60K+ · 4.4★ (110)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463)
wp.org #19 11 too low 9 
HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #17 7 too low 11 
All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542)
wp.org #20 9 too low 12 
HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #7 5 too high 13 
Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33)
wp.org #9 4 too high 14 
ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
Hierarchical HTML Sitemap 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #11 6 too high 18 
Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #12 6 too high 19 LA-Studio Element Kit for Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #10 9 too high 20 
Card Elements for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 
AI to Elementor — HTML Importer for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #13 8 too high 22 
HTML Page Publisher 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #15 7 too high 23 
Card Elements for WPBakery 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
Remove layout destroying HTML-Tags 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.