wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ui blocks”

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 “ui blocks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 6 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

Editor Blocks by Download Manager shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 5K+ 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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #1 2

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) heavy footprint wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) heavy footprint wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks 90K+ · 4.8★ (73) wp.org #4 5

Custom Block Builder – Lazy Blocks 20K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #5 6

Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) heavy footprint wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #11 4 too low 8

GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) heavy footprint wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #18 9 too low 10

Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #20 9 too low 12

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #19 7 too low 13

Animations for Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (27) wp.org #14 1 too low 14

Attributes for Blocks 4K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #15 1 too low 15

BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #13 2 too high 16

Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #12 4 too high 17

Premium Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates 2K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #23 6 too low 18

The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

GutSlider – All in One Slider and Carousel Blocks for Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20

GSlider Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 too low 21

BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #16 5 too high 22

Editor Blocks by Download Manager 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #7 15 too high 23

Useful Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 13 too high 24

ShopEngine Gutenberg WooCommerce Builder Blocks Addon – All in One WooCommerce Solution 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 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.