Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “impress”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Parallax Slider Block shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 900+ 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

Ultimate Responsive Image Slider places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 248 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 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 White Label CMS 200K+ · 4.7★ (114) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 IMPress for IDX Broker 7K+ · 3.1★ (34) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 My WordPress Login Logo 10K+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Choosly – Product Variations Swatches for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (76) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too low 12 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 picu – Online Photo Proofing Gallery 2K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #11 ↑3 5 too high 17 Image Gallery Block 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Responsive Starter Templates – Elementor Templates & Starter Sites 10K+ · 4.5★ (39) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓3 4 too low 20 Parallax Slider Block 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 Migrate away from FooGallery 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Easy p5.js Block 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 VenoBox – Lightweight & Responsive Lightbox Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24 Typing Text 500+ · 2.8★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.