wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple custom css”
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 “simple custom css”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Custom CSS Pro shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too low 8 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
Simple CSS 80K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 
Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑8 3 too high 12 
Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627)
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 
Simple Custom CSS Plugin 100K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #13 ↓3 14 
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #19 ↑2 5 too low 15 Custom CSS Pro 7K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #6 9 too high 16 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too high 19 
Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 
FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #21 ↑3 22 
Simple Banner – Easily add multiple Banners/Bars/Notifications/Announcements to the top or bottom of your website 50K+ · 4.8★ (45)
wp.org #22 23 
Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑3 3 too high 24 S Simple Membership Custom Messages 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.