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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove patterns”

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 “remove patterns”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

Pattern Wrangler – Manage Block Patterns and Pattern Categories shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2617 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #1 2 Classic Editor + 30K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171) wp.org #6 ↓4 1 too low 6 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too low 7 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #8 ↑6 1 too low 8 Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too low 14 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 Pattern Wrangler – Manage Block Patterns and Pattern Categories 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 ↑1 11 too high 17 Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 No Gutenberg? – Choose Where to Use the Block Editor or the Classic Editor 9K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Extendify 500K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too high 21 Pattern CSS – The CSS Editor For Blocks 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Easy Search Replace – Find & Replace Text/HTML/URLs, Remove Footer Credit 700+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 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.