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

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 “isotope”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin shows at wp.org #4 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 20K+ 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

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 489 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 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #1 2 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #2 3 Radius Portfolio – Filterable Grid, Gallery & Slider Portfolio 7K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Testimonial – Testimonial Slider and Showcase Plugin 20K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too low 5 Lightbox slider – Responsive Lightbox Gallery 3K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 WP Ultimate Post Grid 4K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too low 8 Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 Super Testimonial – Testimonial & Customer Review Slider Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Dynamic Team Manager – Team Member Showcase with grid, slider, table Elementor widget & shortcode 900+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #10 11 Logo Slider and Showcase 7K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 8 too high 13 Filterable Portfolio 1K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Team Members Showcase 4K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 WebMan Amplifier 1K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Portfolio – Filterable Masonry Portfolio Gallery for Professionals 200+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Ultimate Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Under Construction – Gutenberg Block Builder & Landing Page 9K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 Video Gallery – YouTube, Vimeo Gallery & YouTube API 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Shortcodes for Elementor 5K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 a3 Portfolio 100+ · 3.0★ (12) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Simple Gallery with Filter 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Custom Social Profile Gallery 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Portfolio Gallery – Ultimate Portfolio, Filterable Grid & Image Slider 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 peLightbox Gallery Slider – Responsive Lightbox, Slideshow, Carousel, Image & Video Gallery 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 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.