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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “master page”

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 “master page”, we agree with wp.org 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

BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ 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

FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 995 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282) wp.org #1 2 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #2 3 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too high 7 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 Spam Master 200+ · 4.2★ (72) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↑3 8 too high 12 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Live Composer – Free WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.4★ (212) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #22 ↑1 7 too low 16 Fusion Page Builder 3K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 Sync Master Sheet – Product Sync with Google Sheet for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18 BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 10 too high 19 W WPB Social Master 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 ArchiveMaster – Auto Archive and Export Old Orders for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑2 21 Loginfy – Custom Login Page Customizer 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 GIF Master – Awesome GIFs with Giphy and Tenor 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 Master QR Code Generator – Fast & Easy QR Code Solution 400+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 Envision Page Builder – A collection of WordPress Gutenberg blocks & templates 100+ · 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.