wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “visual developer”
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 “visual developer”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Classic Visual Editor Options shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery places #12 on merit, 4.3★ from 4342 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.
Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340)
wp.org #1 2 
Visual Composer Website Builder 30K+ · 4.6★ (220)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #11 ↑2 5 too low 7 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925)
wp.org #15 ↓3 7 too low 9 
Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926)
wp.org #18 8 too low 11 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342)
wp.org #23 ↓2 11 too low 13 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too high 15 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (518)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191)
wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 
Marker.io – Visual Website Feedback 4K+ · 5.0★ (44)
wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Classic Visual Editor Options 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #6 13 too high 20 
VRTs – Visual Regression Tests 800+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #7 13 too high 21 
Visual Builder for Contact Form 7 400+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑1 12 too high 22 V Visual Recipe Index 300+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 
WebChange Detector: Visual Regression Testing & Visual Checks After Updates 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑2 10 too high 24 
Developer Debug Mode 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 8 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.