Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “infobox”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 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

PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 361 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Tuskcode Map Pro for Bing Maps 600+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #2 ↑3 1 too low 2 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too low 3 PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates 70K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #15 12 too low 4 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #10 ↑6 6 too low 5 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too low 6 Infobox 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Views for WPForms – Display & Edit WPForms Entries on your site frontend 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 Unlimited Theme Addon For Elementor 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 too high 10 Essential Classy Addons for Elementor – 150+ Widgets, Templates & Performance Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #22 ↑1 11 too low 12 VenoMaps – OpenStreetMap & Privacy-Friendly Geo Maps 400+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑2 8 too high 14 Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15 Modules Kit – Beaver Builder Modules 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too high 16 Geo2 Maps Add-on for NextGEN Gallery 70+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 C Content Fetcher 200+ · 3.2★ (6) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 Custom Skin Loop Build Using Elementor (HTML) 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 WP Google Street View (with 360° virtual tour) & Google maps + Local SEO 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too high 20 Simple Debug Info Panel 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too high 21 Generic Elements 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Clouds and Spaceships — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 F Family Wiki — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Dynamic Inspector for Elementor – Performance Profiler & Debugger 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 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.