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

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 testimonials”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Classic Addons – WPBakery Page Builder shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Text To Speech TTS Accessibility places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 92 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #1 2 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #2 3 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #3 4 Product Tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 GutSlider – All in One Slider and Carousel Blocks for Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Min Max Step Quantity Limits Manager for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.1★ (135) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Text To Speech TTS Accessibility 4K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Magical Shop Builder – WooCommerce Template Builder for Elementor | Shop, Cart, Checkout & Product Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 GS Portfolio – WordPress Portfolio Plugin with Filterable Portfolio Grid and Portfolio Slider 300+ · 4.4★ (37) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Essential Classy Addons for Elementor – 150+ Widgets, Templates & Performance Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 GS YouTube Gallery – Video Feed, Channel Playlist & YouTube Slider 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Zen Addons for SiteOrigin Page Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Elfsight Testimonials Slider 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Classic Addons – WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Singular Alerts – One Gorgeous Alert Block and Alert Shortcode 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Kata Plus – Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Extensions and Templates 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Easy Elementor Addons – Addons Pack for Elementor Page Builder 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Wow Sliders Addons for Elementor 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.