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

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 tags”, 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

SKT Templates – 100% Free Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 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 #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #1 2

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 3

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) 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

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #5 6

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #4 3 too high 8

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #8 9

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too low 10

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too low 12

PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13

ShopEngine – All-in-One Elementor WooCommerce Builder with eCommerce Templates & Woo Widgets 100K+ · 4.6★ (212) wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15

Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #9 6 too high 16

Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 3 too high 18 P Post Tags and Categories for Pages 20K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #18 19

Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) heavy footprint wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20

WP Email Template 2K+ · 3.1★ (35) wp.org #16 4 too high 21

Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↑2 22

SKT Templates – 100% Free Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) not PHP-currentheavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

Metronet Tag Manager 20K+ · 4.8★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Add LinkedIn Insight Tag for LinkedIn Ads 4K+ · 3.3★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑1 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.