wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “profile widget”

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

User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 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

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #3 ↓1 4

BP Profile Search 5K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5

Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #11 ↑3 6 too low 6

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) not PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓2 7

Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8

Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too low 9

Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #21 ↓3 11 too low 11

WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #16 5 too low 12

UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #20 ↓5 8 too low 13

WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too high 14

AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too high 15

One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16

GR Widget – Google Reviews Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17

Tagembed: Social Media Feeds and Customer Reviews Widget 9K+ · 3.9★ (62) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18

Reviews Widgets for Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp & Recommendations 10K+ · 4.9★ (326) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19

Astra Widgets 200K+ · 3.9★ (17) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓2 10 too high 20

Social Media Icon Widget – Social Profile Links with Gutenberg Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓4 3 too high 21

User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #7 15 too high 23

Profile Box Shortcode And Widget 1K+ · 3.7★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24

Custom Profile Picture – Replace Gravatar with Your Own Images 300+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 1 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.