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

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 toggle”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Website Open/Closed Toggle shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 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 #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Dark Mode Toggle 2K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Child Theme Configurator 300K+ · 4.7★ (280) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Accordion Toggle 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #19 ↑3 6 too low 14 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #17 ↑4 1 too low 17 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #22 ↓6 3 too low 20 UiPress lite | Effortless custom dashboards, admin themes and pages 6K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Product Enquiry for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Toggle Content 700+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Website Open/Closed Toggle 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 SMNTCS Theme Toggle — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.