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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “liquid web”

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 “liquid web”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

LIQUID RWD Plus shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ 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

The Events Calendar places #9 on merit, 4.2★ from 2461 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Migrate To Liquid Web & Nexcess 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #7 8 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #8 9 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #20 ↑1 11 too low 10 Event Single Page Builder For The Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 Events Widgets For Elementor And The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.5★ (108) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 LIQUID RWD Plus 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 Essential Classy Addons for Elementor – 150+ Widgets, Templates & Performance Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 BrainyPress 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 LIQUID SEO Inspector 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 Give – Cloudflare Turnstile 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 ButtonCraft Animated Buttons – With Click Analytics — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.