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← Rankings

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

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 “webpack”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Magical Blocks – Elementor Style Blocks for Gutenberg shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 133 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 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #3 ↑6 2 too low 2 Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too low 3 Ajaxified Cart 300+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 CTC Masonry Gallery 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 PDF.js Viewer 20K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #20 14 too low 7 GoCardless for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 6 too high 8 WP Fastest Site Search 100+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 RoleMaster Suite – User Role Editor for E-Commerce, Membership & Admin Panel 700+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 6 too high 11 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Popups for WooCommerce: Add to Cart, Checkout & More 2K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Easy Video Reviews – Testimonial Grid & Social Proof 100+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 FlexOrder – WooCommerce Order Sync & Management with Google Sheets 200+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 utm.codes 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 too high 16 KineticHub – Animated Blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 WBD Logo Carousel For Gutenberg 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Document Embedder Addons for Elementor – Embed Documents in Elementor Websites 6K+ · 3.7★ (7) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Magical Blocks – Elementor Style Blocks for Gutenberg 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 Text Typing – grab attention with animated typing headlines 3K+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Bob Pay 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Image Gallery Block – Showcase Photos in Stunning Responsive Grids 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 23 Forma Favicon 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Flexa Block – Blocks & Page Builder 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 6 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.