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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “material box”

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 “material box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 529 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #1 2 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #2 3 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #3 4 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #4 5 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #5 6 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 3DPrint Lite 600+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #11 12 MKL Product Configurator for WooCommerce – 2D & 3D Live Preview 2K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Markup by Attribute for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Swatchly – Product Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #21 22 Tutor LMS Elementor Addons 30K+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 6K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #19 5 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.