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

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 “kickstart”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Ultimate Data Table Addon For Elementor shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CoDesigner – All in One Elementor WooCommerce Builder places #6 on merit, 4.4★ from 153 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Blocksy Companion 300K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 immonex Kickstart 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 CoDesigner – All in One Elementor WooCommerce Builder 5K+ · 4.4★ (153) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 immonex Kickstart Team 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 CubeWP Framework 3K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 GetResponse Official 4K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Easy Demo Importer – A Modern One-Click Demo Import Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 immonex Kickstart for Elementor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 B5 Kickstart Companion — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Xpro Slider For Beaver Builder – Lite 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 CubeWP Forms 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 BuckyDrop – Branded Dropshipping for WooCommerce 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Car Rental Manager – Online Vehicle Booking System 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Magic Elements 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 AI Article Generator for WordPress 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Plexblocks – Accordion for Block Editor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Makler-Berater — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Ultimate Data Table Addon For Elementor 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 KhvichaDev – Waitlist & Notify — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.