wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “styling”
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 “styling”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 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
Extra Styling for MemberPress shows at wp.org #2 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #1 ↑2 2 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 
Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓2 5 too high 10 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #17 6 too low 12 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↑2 13 
SiteOrigin CSS 100K+ · 4.9★ (153)
wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476)
wp.org #22 ↓3 7 too low 16 
SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134)
wp.org #16 ↓1 17 
Classic Editor + 30K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #14 ↑7 3 too high 18 
Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) heavy footprint
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69)
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Block Enhancements – Extended styling for the Block Editor 900+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 Extra Styling for MemberPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↓1 20 too high 23 
Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67)
wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 
CiviCRM Admin Utilities 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓3 5 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.