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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website block”

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 “website block”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

Website LLMs.txt shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #4 5 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 iQ Block Country 20K+ · 3.9★ (166) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Block Editor Colors 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 PDF Viewer Block for Gutenberg 10K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) 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.