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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “responsive design”

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 design”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

Fluid Design System for Elementor shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 300+ 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

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #4 5 Responsive Gallery Grid 4K+ · 4.7★ (66) wp.org #5 ↑4 6 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Make Tables Responsive 6K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586) wp.org #24 ↓4 12 too low 13 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Block Responsive – Make Editor Blocks Responsive Easily 800+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 Responsive Slideshow – Photo Carousel 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 Responsive Pricing Table 10K+ · 4.6★ (91) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 too low 17 Responsive Slider Gallery – Responsive Image Photo Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Responsive Starter Templates – Elementor Templates & Starter Sites 10K+ · 4.5★ (39) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Photospace Responsive Gallery 800+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Fluid Design System for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Responsive Tabs For Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 Responsive Testing: simulate different devices 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.