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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rounded corners”

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 “rounded corners”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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

HT Form Widget for Elementor and WPForms shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox places #4 on merit, 4.6★ from 498 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Image Zoom 10K+ · 4.3★ (119) wp.org #1 2 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #2 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498) wp.org #14 10 too low 5 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 CoolClock 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Social Sharing Plugin – Kiwi 4K+ · 4.1★ (18) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Before After Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Crypto Converter ⚡ Widget 1K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Gallery Block by Galleryberg: Lightbox with Tiles, Masonry, Square, & Justified Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 11 Currency Converter Calculator 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Marquee Running Text 5K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Divi Gravity Forms (WP Tools) 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Cryptocurrency Price Widget 200+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Qyrr – simply and modern QR-Code creation 2K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 LocateAndFilter 200+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Add To Cart Button Customizations 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Multicons 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Loginfy – Custom Login Page Customizer 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 HT Form Widget for Elementor and WPForms 2K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Product Image and Video Gallery Slider for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Modal Popup Box — Popup Maker & Popup Builder 2K+ · 3.5★ (10) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Online Indicator For Twitch 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 TZM Responsive Block Controls 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.