wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “inspiro”
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 “inspiro”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 16.
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
WPZOOM Addons for Beaver Builder shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ 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
Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets places #1 on merit, 4.9★ from 1516 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.
Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516)
wp.org #15 14 too low 2 
Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391)
wp.org #12 10 too low 3 
WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144)
wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too low 4 
Remove "Powered by WordPress" 20K+ · 4.4★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Video Popup Block – YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok Lightbox by WPZOOM 10K+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
SideMenu 900+ · 4.8★ (25)
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 
Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #2 6 too high 9 
Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #1 8 too high 10 
Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 
iNext Woo Pincode Checker 600+ · 4.2★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 
WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #4 8 too high 13 
ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 WPZOOM Addons for Beaver Builder 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #5 9 too high 15 
Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
Secondary Product Image for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 8 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.