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← Rankings

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

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 “informative”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

WPC Product Size Chart for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 793 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 2 TI WooCommerce Wishlist 100K+ · 4.7★ (503) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #4 ↑14 1 too low 4 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #13 ↑4 7 too low 7 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #12 ↑3 4 too low 9 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #15 ↓8 6 too low 10 Cool Flipbox – Shortcode & Gutenberg Block 5K+ · 4.8★ (103) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Info Cards – Add Text and Media in Card Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too high 13 Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63) wp.org #17 ↓6 4 too low 14 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↓4 7 too high 15 Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation 3K+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 WPC Product Size Chart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Schema Package – Structured Data & Rich Snippets Tool for SEO 200+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 WPC Linked Variation for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Advanced Product Information for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 Cards for Beaver Builder 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑2 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.