wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “make clickable”

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 “make clickable”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Clickable Featured Image shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #1 2

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #6 4 too low 3

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #8 5 too low 4

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #4 5

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #10 5 too low 6

Make Section & Column Clickable For Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #2 4 too high 7

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #11 4 too low 8

Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #13 5 too low 9

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

Kaya QR Code Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #14 3 too low 12

Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) not PHP-current wp.org #12 13

Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171) wp.org #19 6 too low 14

Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 16

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) heavy footprint wp.org #17 1 too high 19

Table Of Content Block – Auto-Generate Clickable Table of Contents 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #5 14 too high 20

Interactive US Map – Create Clickable & Customizable U.S. Maps 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #7 13 too high 21

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Clickable Featured Image 90+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #3 20 too high 24

Addon Elementor Container Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #18 6 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.