Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “info cards”

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 “info cards”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 18 of the top 20. 4 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

Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 291 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #7 ↑2 5 too low 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #11 8 too low 4 Info Cards – Add Text and Media in Card Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 Server Info – System Health & Diagnostics Suite 3K+ · 3.8★ (12) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards 10K+ · 3.3★ (53) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too high 13 Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Oracle Cards Lite – Interactive Card Deck Plugin for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments, Donations & Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Extension Info Exporter 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Welcart e-Commerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Business Card Block – present your team and contact info in style 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Tasty Recipes Lite – WordPress Recipe Card Plugin with Built-In Recipe Schema 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Tarot Card Oracle 100+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #21 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.