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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “list layout”

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 “list layout”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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

Post Layouts shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #2 3 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #19 ↓4 10 too low 10 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 WP Blog Post Layouts 9K+ · 4.7★ (83) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Responsive Team Members Showcase, Team Grid, Team Slider, and Staff List – Smart Team (formerly WP Team) 5K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #11 ↓3 3 too high 15 Plugins List 700+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #5 ↓2 12 too high 18 Authors List 5K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Dashboard To-Do List 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 Product Layouts for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #23 ↓9 3 too low 21 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too high 22 Layouts for WPBakery 3K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Post Layouts 900+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 11 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.