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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “warning box”

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 “warning box”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 400+ 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

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #2 3 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Gallery Box 1K+ · 4.1★ (18) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 HollerBox — Fast & Effective Popups & Lead-Generation 2K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #16 ↓4 3 too low 14 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #18 ↑5 3 too low 16 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #20 ↑4 2 too low 19 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 Search engines blocked warning 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Booking.com Official Search Box 2K+ · 2.4★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 WebberZone Link Warnings 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Doozly Affiliate Box for Amazon 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.