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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mobile spacers”

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 “mobile spacers”, 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

WPZOOM Addons for Beaver Builder shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 259 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #2 3 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Getwid – Gutenberg Blocks 50K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 Genesis Blocks 40K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 GutenBee – Gutenberg Blocks 6K+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79) wp.org #11 12 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #12 13 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 EmailKit – Email Customizer for WooCommerce & WP 70K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Ibtana – WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (30) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 WPZOOM Addons for Beaver Builder 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 21 9MAIL – WordPress Email Templates Designer 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 22 Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Groundworx Navigation – Responsive Menu & Mobile Navigation Block 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Kenta Blocks – Responsive Blocks and block templates library 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 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.