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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “promo header”

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 “promo header”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement shows at wp.org #1 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 361 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 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #9 ↑3 4 too low 6 Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too low 9 PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates 70K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #15 ↑4 5 too low 11 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #10 ↑6 2 too high 13 WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 Magical Addons For Elementor ( Theme Builder, Header Footer Builder, Free Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates Library ) 4K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Tawk.To Live Chat 100K+ · 4.6★ (142) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement 400+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #1 18 too high 20 Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 DMC Promo Banner – Sale Notifications & Announcement Bar 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 14 too high 22 HTML Page Publisher 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 core plugin for kitestudio themes 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Mintpay for WooCommerce 600+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 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.