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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “toggles”

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 “toggles”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

Website Open/Closed Toggle shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 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

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 2617 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #6 ↑3 3 too low 4 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Dark Mode Toggle 2K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Accordion Toggle 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #2 ↓1 4 too high 7 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #23 ↓2 12 too low 12 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 WP-ShowHide 9K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #14 15 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Quick and Easy FAQs 10K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Grid/List View for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (50) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #19 20 Toggles 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Toggle Content 700+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓1 14 too high 22 Gutena Accordion – Beautiful FAQ Accordion Block 5K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓2 9 too high 23 WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Website Open/Closed Toggle 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 16 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.