wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ui tabs”
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 tabs”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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
AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 3K+ 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
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 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.
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #1 2 
Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce & WordPress Tabs Builder – Smart Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (134)
wp.org #2 3 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too low 4 
All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542)
wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too low 5 
Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442)
wp.org #13 ↑3 8 too low 6 
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓3 6 too low 7 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #18 ↑2 10 too low 9 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #17 ↓2 8 too low 10 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too low 11 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #21 ↑2 10 too low 12 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #23 ↓4 11 too low 13 
Plethora Tabs + Accordions 2K+ · 4.9★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #5 8 too high 14 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↑3 1 too low 15 
Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132)
wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 
Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #6 10 too high 17 
Responsive UI for Beaver Builder 300+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #8 9 too high 18 
Tab Ultimate 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 14 too high 19 
Advanced Accordion Gutenberg Block – Create Beautiful FAQs, Content Accordions & Interactive Tabs 9K+ · 4.1★ (34)
wp.org #19 ↓2 20 
CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
WPC Product Tabs for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #7 14 too high 22 AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #3 19 too high 23 
Post Grid & Post Slider – Carousel, Filter Tabs & Related Posts 1K+ · 4.3★ (8) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Floating Side Tab 600+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 13 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.