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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “styling title”

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 title”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Daisy Titles — Style & Hide Page and Post Titles shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #2 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #3 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Gutenverse – WordPress Blocks, Page Builder & Site Editor 20K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Block Enhancements – Extended styling for the Block Editor 800+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Daisy Titles — Style & Hide Page and Post Titles 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 18 too high 24 Text Unfold For Elementor 3K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #23 1 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.