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← Rankings

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

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 “skins”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

Innozilla Skins for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #1 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 3 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #4 5 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #13 ↑3 7 too low 7 Social Media Feather 10K+ · 4.6★ (506) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 HTML5 Audio Player – The Ultimate No-Code Podcast, MP3 & Audio Player 10K+ · 4.6★ (169) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 CC Child Pages 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 Maps Widget for Google Maps 20K+ · 4.6★ (512) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 Listdom: AI-powered Business Directory with Classifieds Ads Listings 1K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Innozilla Skins for Contact Form 7 2K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #3 13 too high 17 Music Player for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 CP Media Player – Audio Player and Video Player 3K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 CoolClock 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 WPC Fly Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (61) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Wonder Slider Lite 8K+ · 4.2★ (24) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 Tabs Widget for Page Builder 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 BlogLentor – Blog Designer Pack for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.