wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “notice boxes”
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 “notice boxes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Notice Vault – Hide, Manage & Organize Admin Notices shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ 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
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 5925 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205)
wp.org #1 2 
Cool Flipbox – Shortcode & Gutenberg Block 5K+ · 4.8★ (103)
wp.org #2 3 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158)
wp.org #5 6 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Classic Editor 8M+ · 4.9★ (1251)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48)
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
Boxzilla – WordPress Popup Builder 20K+ · 4.8★ (133)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
AffiliateX – Amazon Affiliate Plugin, Product Boxes, Comparison Tables & Affiliate Link Tracking 9K+ · 4.5★ (35)
wp.org #7 8 too high 16 
Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 D Drop Shadow Boxes 3K+ · 5.0★ (77)
wp.org #16 4 too high 21 
Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166)
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
Inline Related Posts 100K+ · 4.3★ (77)
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Notice Vault – Hide, Manage & Organize Admin Notices 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 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.