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

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 mode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Always Edit In HTML shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 440 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 HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter 60K+ · 4.4★ (110) wp.org #1 2 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Maintenance Mode 8K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #4 ↓3 5 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too low 7 Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87) wp.org #8 ↓6 1 too low 8 Under Construction, Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Minimal Coming Soon – Coming Soon Page 100K+ · 4.3★ (282) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #23 ↓4 12 too low 12 ELEX WooCommerce Catalog Mode 10K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #9 ↓3 3 too high 13 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 CSV to HTML 300+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too low 15 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑8 1 too low 16 Always Edit In HTML 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 11 too high 17 Maintenance Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18 Export WordPress Pages to Static HTML & PDF — Static Site Export 4K+ · 3.8★ (51) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 6K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓4 8 too high 20 D Display HTML Sitemap 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓3 8 too high 21 AEO God Mode – AI Search Visibility 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓3 22 Holiday Mode for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓4 4 too high 23 Speedx – Maintenance Mode 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too high 24 Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview 10K+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 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.