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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “template kits”

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 “template kits”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Spexo Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets, Mega Menu, Popup Builder, Template Kits and Starter Templates for Elementor shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 3 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #3 4 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #4 5 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #20 14 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #12 ↑3 5 too low 8 Style Kits for Elementor 10K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too low 9 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11 Element Invader – Template Kits for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too high 13 Templateberg – Gutenberg Templates, WordPress Themes Template Kits & WordPress Templates 6K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Template Kit – Import 400K+ · 3.4★ (16) wp.org #6 ↑1 9 too high 16 GTM Kit – Google Tag Manager & GA4 integration 30K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too high 18 Spexo Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets, Mega Menu, Popup Builder, Template Kits and Starter Templates for Elementor 6K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑1 11 too high 19 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 BEW – Elementor Addons, Templates & AI Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Dokan Kits 300+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 Kadence Starter Templates — Predesigned Website Templates 200K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Thim Kit for Elementor – Pre-built Templates & Widgets for Elementor 20K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too high 24 Kits, Templates and Patterns 4K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 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.