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← Rankings

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

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 “sections”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 5 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

Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Store Locator places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 312 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #8 ↑7 3 too low 6 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #13 ↑2 7 too low 7 Make Section & Column Clickable For Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #24 ↓6 9 too low 16 Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #16 17 Services Section Block – present your services in clean grids and columns 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 fullPage Vertical & Horizontal Slider – Snap Scroll Sections & More 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19 C Cornerstone 20K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 15 too high 21 Video Background Block – Add Stunning Video Backgrounds to Any Section 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 MapVisiblr – Sections visibility in Elementor for MapGeo 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23 Accordion – Organize Content into Clean Collapsible Sections 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 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.