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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “section divider”

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 “section divider”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Shape Dividers Plus for Elementor shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 2K+ 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

Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 729 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #2 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #10 ↑4 3 too low 8 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too low 9 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 HD Quiz 6K+ · 4.9★ (145) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too low 12 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #20 ↑1 7 too low 14 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 Custom Shape Dividers create dividers in a easy way 300+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Shape Dividers Plus for Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Genesis Blocks 40K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Section Blocks – Landing Page Sections for the Block Editor 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Section Separator Block – Modern Waves, Icons, Pills & Emoji Stacks 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 15 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.