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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “showcase creator”

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 “showcase creator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Creta Testimonial Showcase shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 449 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 3 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Video Gallery – YouTube Gallery, Playlist & Video Grid 2K+ · 4.9★ (128) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 MPL-Publisher — Ebook & Audiobook Creator 700+ · 4.9★ (46) wp.org #10 11 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets 30K+ · 4.0★ (162) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Sensei LMS – Online Courses, Quizzes, & Learning 9K+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Canvas 9K+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 TemplateSpare – 1000+ WordPress Starter Templates & Full Site Migration Tool | 1-Click Import/Export & No-Code Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Slider Block by Sliderberg – Slider & Carousel Plugin for Block Editor 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Image Gallery Block 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 ReelsWp – Shoppable Videos & Vertical Reels Carousels 300+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #23 24 Creta Testimonial Showcase 3K+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #5 19 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.