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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “theme demos”

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 “theme demos”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Mystery Themes Demo Importer 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 2.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 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 One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) wp.org #1 2 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63) wp.org #4 5 Create Block Theme 20K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill 70K+ · 4.7★ (197) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #20 ↑2 12 too low 9 Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #21 ↑2 11 too low 11 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Easy Demo Importer – A Modern One-Click Demo Import Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Rara One Click Demo Import 20K+ · 2.7★ (7) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Ansar Import – One Click Starter Sites – for WordPress Themes 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 Unlimited Theme Addon For Elementor 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Woostify Sites Library 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 F FameTheme Demo Importer 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Mystery Themes Demo Importer 6K+ · 2.0★ (4) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Demo Importer Plus 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme 80K+ · 2.1★ (7) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 ThemeMiles Toolset 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 F Flawless Themes Demo Importer 1K+ · 2.3★ (4) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 Catch Themes Demo Import 5K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.