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

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 templates”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too low 8 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 Fullwidth Templates for Any Theme & Page Builder 20K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Starter Sites & Templates by Neve 100K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383) wp.org #24 ↓2 10 too low 15 Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too high 16 Show Current Template 100K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Kadence Starter Templates — Predesigned Website Templates 200K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #7 ↓2 10 too high 18 Create Block Theme 20K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #18 19 SKT Templates – 100% Free Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Style Kits for Elementor 10K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 WP Child Theme Generator 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Child Theme Check 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Templateberg – Gutenberg Templates, WordPress Themes Template Kits & WordPress Templates 6K+ · 4.3★ (6) 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.