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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “progress bar”

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 “progress bar”, 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

WBD Progress Bar For Gutenberg shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 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

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 ↑4 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 too low 7 Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #5 ↓3 2 too high 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 WP Reading Progress 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #18 ↑6 7 too low 12 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 Freetop – Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Catch Scroll Progress Bar 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Ultimeter – the Ultimate Progress and Goals Meter 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce – Progress Indicator, Popup & Alerts 200+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 SKT Skill Bar 1K+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 WPC Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Progress Bars 500+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 WBD Progress Bar For Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑3 15 too high 23 Skill Bars 300+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Hotel Bookings Progress Bar for MotoPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.