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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “stretch column”

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 “stretch column”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

MotoPress Hotel Booking Styles & Templates shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Live Chat by Formilla – Real-time Chat & Chatbots Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 116 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #2 3 QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Grids: Layout builder for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Tableberg – Simple Gutenberg Table Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Live Chat by Formilla – Real-time Chat & Chatbots Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 C Column Stretch for Elementor 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 Custom Layouts – Post + Product grids made easy 3K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Premium Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates 2K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Product Table For WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 AI Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – WPBean 1K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 FrontBlocks Site Tools 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Blocksolid 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Any Block Carousel Slider 200+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #17 18 Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Ultimate Downloadable Products for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Kodlo Product Gallery for Elementor 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 21 Origin Layouts Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓2 9 too high 22 Qthemy Slider Builder — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Amitry Product & Category Slider for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 MotoPress Hotel Booking Styles & Templates 10K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 14 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.