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← Rankings

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

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

Marquee Block shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Social Icons places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 84 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 Flexible Table Block 40K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #1 2 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #2 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Daily Prayer Time 1K+ · 4.9★ (96) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393) wp.org #17 ↑6 9 too low 9 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 PublishPress Tag Groups: Stylish Displays For Your Tags and Categories 3K+ · 4.8★ (57) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 BNE Testimonials 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Easy Social Icons 20K+ · 4.4★ (84) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Block Editor: Reverse Columns on Mobile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 YayExtra – WooCommerce Extra Product Options 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 Simple Slider Block – Create Sliders From Core Blocks 600+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Marquee Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 YITH WooCommerce Badge Management 10K+ · 2.9★ (93) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 cbParallax 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 Surbma | Divi Extras 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 WPC Variations Table for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.