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

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 “service section”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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 #3 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 17 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

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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★ (7323) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 TermsFeed AutoTerms: Privacy Policy Generator, Cookie Consent, GDPR, CCPA, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, Cookies Policy, EULA 70K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Services Section Block – present your services in clean grids and columns 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Booktics – Appointment Booking Calendar for Service Businesses 700+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 VikAppointments Services Booking Calendar 500+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 20 Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 17 too high 21 Service Box Slider 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot & Knowledge Base for Customer Service 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 23 fullPage Vertical & Horizontal Slider – Snap Scroll Sections & More 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Accordion – Organize Content into Clean Collapsible Sections 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #23 1 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.