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

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 spacers”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Responsive Block Controls shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 259 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #3 2 too low 2

Flexible Spacer Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #7 4 too low 4

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) heavy footprint wp.org #10 5 too low 6

VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #2 4 too high 7

Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171) wp.org #11 4 too low 8

Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #13 5 too low 9

Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #4 5 too high 10

GutenBee – Gutenberg Blocks 6K+ · 4.9★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #6 4 too high 11

Getwid – Gutenberg Blocks 50K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #12 1 too low 12

Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #9 4 too high 14

Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 5 too low 15

Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #21 6 too low 16

Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 6 too low 17

EmailKit – Email Customizer for WooCommerce & WP 70K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Ibtana – WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 4 too high 19

Genesis Blocks 40K+ · 3.7★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20

Responsive Block Controls 60+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #8 12 too high 21

BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Kenta Blocks – Responsive Blocks and block templates library 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #16 7 too high 24

Zen Addons for SiteOrigin Page Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current 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.