Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “styled box”

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 “styled box”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Qi Blocks shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 489 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 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Styled Calendar – Customizable, Mobile Responsive Google Calendar Embeds 1K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Popup Box – Easily Create WordPress Popups 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #14 ↑6 4 too low 11 MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #19 ↓5 7 too low 13 WP Datepicker 6K+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #17 18 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Arconix Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too low 20 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Squad Modules Lite – Free Divi 5 & Divi 4 Modules for Divi Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22 aThemes Addons for Elementor – Widgets & Elementor Addons 7K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 24 Classic Addons – WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.