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← Rankings

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

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 “spacing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

SocialFeeds shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 40K+ 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.

Buried gem

Page Builder by SiteOrigin places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 1005 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 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #1 2 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #2 3 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #6 ↑4 2 too low 5 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too high 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #7 ↑6 1 too low 7 Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #12 ↑3 2 too low 11 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #18 ↑4 5 too low 14 SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 500K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too high 16 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #22 ↓8 6 too low 17 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 GutenBee – Gutenberg Blocks 6K+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Neurogenesis Styler – Block Editor Typography, Spacing & Design Controls 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓9 6 too high 23 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 SocialFeeds 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑3 9 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.