Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “present”

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 “present”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Team Member Block shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ 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

Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1071 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags 4K+ · 4.6★ (306) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Services Section Block – present your services in clean grids and columns 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too low 8 Shortcodes Finder 4K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 Business Card Block – present your team and contact info in style 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #2 11 too high 14 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Team Member Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 Data Tables – present your data in clean, customizable tables 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 RTMKit for Elementor – Modular Addons, Widgets, Templates, Icon Library, GSAP Animations, MCP & Store Ready 40K+ · 2.7★ (16) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 DHL eCommerce (Benelux) for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too high 23 SlingBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks by FunnelKit (Formerly WooFunnels) 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 WPC Product Image Swap for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↑1

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.