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

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

Scroll to Top – Smooth Scroll Up, Back to Top & Reading Progress Bar shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 60+ 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 #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #4 3 too low 2

Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #2 3

Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #3 4

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 5 too low 5

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Catch Scroll Progress Bar 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #1 6 too high 8

WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) low rating, top placement wp.org #5 3 too high 9

Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #12 ↑4 3 too low 10

Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too low 12

My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #18 5 too low 14

Reading Position Indicator 800+ · 5.0★ (66) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15

Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too low 17

Perfect Images: Regenerate Thumbnails, Image Sizes, WebP & AVIF 60K+ · 4.8★ (279) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18

Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19

Disk Usage Sunburst 9K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #15 4 too high 20

Image Alt Text 10K+ · 5.0★ (56) wp.org #23 ↓4 3 too low 21

Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22

GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #21 ↑3 1 too high 23

Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #17 6 too high 24

Scroll to Top – Smooth Scroll Up, Back to Top & Reading Progress Bar 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑3 13 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.