wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “responsive containers”
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 “responsive containers”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100)
wp.org #1 2 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #3 4 
Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574)
wp.org #4 ↓2 5 
Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Responsive Gallery Grid 4K+ · 4.7★ (66)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 
WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too low 9 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10 
GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122)
wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 
Responsive Starter Templates – Elementor Templates & Starter Sites 10K+ · 4.5★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #16 ↑3 4 too low 13 
Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint
wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 
Gutenverse – WordPress Blocks, Page Builder & Site Editor 20K+ · 4.9★ (190) heavy footprint
wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 
Responsive Thumbnail Slider 1K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 
Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28)
wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 
Responsive Filterable Portfolio Gallery – Media Grid & Video Portfolio 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #12 6 too high 19 
Ditty – Responsive News Tickers, Sliders, and Lists 30K+ · 4.6★ (106) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too high 20 
Logo Slider WP – Responsive Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery & Logo Showcase 10K+ · 4.5★ (61)
wp.org #23 ↓5 3 too low 21 
Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 
Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑4 2 too high 23 Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 14 too high 24 
BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.