Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sidebar widgets”

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 “sidebar widgets”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Essential Widgets shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 215 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 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Lightweight Sidebar Manager 80K+ · 4.2★ (21) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Sidebar Login 9K+ · 4.5★ (78) wp.org #4 5 Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724) wp.org #9 ↑5 4 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too low 8 Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109) wp.org #13 ↑4 4 too low 10 Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Widget Disable 10K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Astra Widgets 200K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #5 ↓1 8 too high 14 Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Easy Social Like Box – Popup – Sidebar Widget 6K+ · 4.4★ (18) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too high 20 Login Widget With Shortcode 5K+ · 3.8★ (29) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too high 21 Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 SMK Sidebar Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓6 8 too high 23 S Shortcodes in Sidebar 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 Essential Widgets 10K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 14 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.