wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “style sheet”

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 “style sheet”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Sheet Music Libary shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz Maker by AYS places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 2

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

FlexTable – Data Table Sync with Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce – WP Sheet Editor 10K+ · 4.9★ (228) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #15 9 too low 7

Sync Master Sheet – Product Sync with Google Sheet for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #3 4 too high 8

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #6 4 too high 11

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #21 10 too low 12

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #20 7 too low 14

Contact Form Clean and Simple 7K+ · 4.7★ (195) wp.org #18 4 too low 15

Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #17 1 too low 17

WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Stylish Google Sheet Reader – Embed Google Sheets as Interactive Tables with Built-in Form Submissions 200+ · 3.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #10 8 too high 19

GSheetConnector – Gravity Forms Google Sheets Connector – Real-Time Sync 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #13 6 too high 20

Sheet Music Libary 100+ · 4.3★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #7 13 too high 21

Special Text Boxes 1K+ · 3.4★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

WPSyncSheets For Gravity Forms – Connect Gravity Forms to Google Sheets 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 6 too high 23

Sheetable – Google Sheets to WP Table 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 12 too high 24

Integration for Google Sheets and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #14 10 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.