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

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 “stories”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Timeline – Tell Your Story Through Events and Milestones shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too low 2 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Web Stories Widgets For Elementor 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 ↑1 3 too high 5 Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #7 ↑6 2 too low 6 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #15 ↑4 8 too low 8 WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #20 ↑4 10 too low 11 Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #23 ↓5 8 too low 16 MakeStories (for Google Web Stories) 600+ · 4.3★ (28) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18 Audio Story Images 400+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19 Vertical Timeline Widget for Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Timeline – Tell Your Story Through Events and Milestones 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Timeline Module for Divi 3K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Raptive Ads 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Testimonial – Build Trust with Rotating Customer Stories 100+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.