Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “skeleton”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 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

Template Skeleton Creator shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its — 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #1 2 Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Image Gallery 3K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Album Gallery for Photo & Video 4K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Grid Gallery – for Photo Gallery, Image Gallery & Portfolio 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 7 Products Skeleton Loader for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↑1 5 too high 8 Progressify – All-in-One Progressive Web App (PWA) 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Custom Social Profile Gallery 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Ajax loader + Cache 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 F FameTheme Demo Importer 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Init View Count – AI-Powered, Trending, REST API 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 Under The Weather 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 Init Embed Posts – Stylish, Fast, Portable 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 Uplink7 Skeleton Loader 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Template Skeleton Creator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Sentio Widgets for Elementor 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 18 ExtenderX – Accessibility Toolbar, Dark Mode & Site Tools 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 PagePulse 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 AgeWallet – Age Verification & Age Estimation for WordPress & WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑8 4 too high 21 LumenCache 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 Micromax Gerdali video story for youtube — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 ModeFilter Pro — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Instant AI Image Generator – Create & Import Images 800+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.