Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “layered background”

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 “layered background”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

Classic Addons – WPBakery Page Builder shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Print Page Block – make any page printable in one click 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #12 ↑3 6 too low 7 Pixel Gallery Addons for Elementor 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 Sense Forms 200+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #24 15 too low 10 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 UiCore Blocks – Free WordPress Gutenberg Blocks 500+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 FrontBlocks Site Tools 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce Stores 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓5 3 too low 15 Easy Tabs Block – Smart, Lightweight & Responsive Tabs for the Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 Turbo Addons Elementor 3K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 Jamie's Visual HTML Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 Animatikon – Scroll Animations & Motion Effects 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 Classic Addons – WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 12 too high 21 Animation Kit – Animated Backgrounds & WebGL Effects 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑2 10 too high 22 OffCanvas / Drawer – add sleek slide-in panels to any page 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑3 9 too high 23 LinkMesh: Semantic AI Internal Links for SEO 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too high 24 King Addons for Elementor – 100+ Elementor Widgets, 4 000+ Elementor Templates, WooCommerce Builder, Mega Menu, Popup Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓18 1 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.