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

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 layout”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 394 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 Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ · 4.9★ (2003) wp.org #1 2 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #2 3 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #3 ↑5 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #10 ↑3 5 too low 6 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #11 ↑3 5 too low 7 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Make Tables Responsive 6K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Block Responsive – Make Editor Blocks Responsive Easily 800+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 ↓1 9 too high 15 Responsive Slideshow – Photo Carousel 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 Photospace Responsive Gallery 800+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Responsive Slider Gallery – Responsive Image Photo Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20 Responsive Starter Templates – Elementor Templates & Starter Sites 10K+ · 4.5★ (39) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 14 too high 23 Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Responsive Tabs For Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 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.