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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “split page”

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 “split page”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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.

P

Ranked above its merit

Page Optimize shows at wp.org #3 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 ↑1 2 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Split Test For Elementor 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #4 5 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 Split Pay – Stripe Connect Split Payments & Multi-Vendor Marketplace for WooCommerce & FluentCart 100+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #20 ↓6 9 too low 12 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks – CoBlocks 300K+ · 4.2★ (109) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Fusion Page Builder 3K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 WC Order Split 20+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #3 17 too high 21 Custom Thank You Page for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 WC Backorder Split 50+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Unbounce Landing Pages 10K+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Zen Addons for SiteOrigin Page Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.