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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wave separator”

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 “wave separator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Unlimited Elements Blocks Library shows at wp.org #3 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 500+ 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

Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor places #4 on merit, 4.7★ from 140 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #1 2 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #16 ↓1 13 too low 4 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #20 ↓2 16 too low 5 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Section Separator Block – Modern Waves, Icons, Pills & Emoji Stacks 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Section Blocks – Landing Page Sections for the Block Editor 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Pixel Gallery Addons for Elementor 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Bright Addons for Elementor 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Neurogenesis Styler – Block Editor Typography, Spacing & Design Controls 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 Themofy Addons for Elementor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 WPMozo Blocks and Addons 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 WPMozo Addons Lite for Elementor 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Bright Addons Blocks Library — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 TCI Ultimate Element Themes 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Bloqra – Gutenberg Blocks & Page Builder for Block Editor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Grinner Blocks 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too high 19 Marfilo – Visual Page Builder for Landing Pages, Headers, Footers & Mega Menus — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 Axiom Blocks – Page Builder Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Consentinel Cookie Consent 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 BimBeau Privacy Analytics — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 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.