wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “theme development”
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 development”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Local Development shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63)
wp.org #1 2 
Theme Check 20K+ · 4.8★ (195)
wp.org #2 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460)
wp.org #4 5 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too low 6 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 
Create Block Theme 20K+ · 4.8★ (38)
wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too high 9 
Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 
Child Theme Configurator 300K+ · 4.7★ (280)
wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #14 ↑3 3 too low 12 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 16 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint
wp.org #23 ↓3 6 too low 18 
Church Content – Sermons, Events and More 3K+ · 4.9★ (49)
wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #16 4 too high 21 L Local Development 90+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #7 14 too high 22 
Export Themes 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 
Unlimited Theme Addon For Elementor 600+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 
Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 14 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.