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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “reusable”

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 “reusable”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Blocks: Reusable Content, Shortcodes & Site Variables shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 187 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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 Reusable Blocks Extended 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #2 3 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #3 4 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 500K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #7 ↓4 1 too high 9 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too low 11 Easy Modal 7K+ · 4.4★ (124) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 Fabrica Synced Pattern Instances 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #14 ↑6 15 WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Advanced Views – Display Framework – Gutenberg/Elementor/Shortcode 2K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 BlockSpare – Gutenberg Blocks, AI Content Generator & Site Builder for news, magazine, blog and business sites 10K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Extendify 500K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 QR Redirector 4K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 Ninja Charts – Interactive Charts and Graphs 3K+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Ansar Import – One Click Starter Sites – for WordPress Themes 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑4 4 too high 24 Blocks: Reusable Content, Shortcodes & Site Variables 600+ · 1.8★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓1 13 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.