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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “tabs”

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 “tabs”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 3K+ 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

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 542 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce & WordPress Tabs Builder – Smart Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #1 2 Product Tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Gutena Tabs 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Custom Product tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #4 5 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #24 ↓3 19 too low 6 E Expand Tabs for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Tabby Responsive Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #23 ↓6 16 too low 8 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #21 ↑1 13 too low 9 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #16 ↓5 7 too low 10 Easy Tabs Block – Smart, Lightweight & Responsive Tabs for the Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Tabs Widget for Page Builder 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #11 12 Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 ↑1 6 too high 13 Plethora Tabs + Accordions 2K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Product Tabs Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #14 ↓8 15 Responsive Tabs 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too low 16 Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 Additional Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Advanced Tabs Block 1K+ · 3.3★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 WPC Product Tabs for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 Tab Ultimate 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Tabs Block – Responsive Gutenberg Tabs for Block Editor 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Responsive Tabs For Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 11 too high 24 Tabs Block 400+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.