wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website builder”
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 builder”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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
Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder shows at wp.org #8 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 104 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #2 3 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 3 too high 7 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 500K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #15 ↓5 6 too low 10 
WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
Visual Composer Website Builder 30K+ · 4.6★ (220) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 
Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↑5 3 too high 13 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑5 1 too high 14 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too low 15 Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104)
wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #20 ↓4 4 too low 17 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #21 ↑3 4 too low 18 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↑4 2 too high 20 
Live Composer – Free WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.4★ (212) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 
Gutenverse – WordPress Blocks, Page Builder & Site Editor 20K+ · 4.9★ (190) heavy footprint
wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 
Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑3 6 too high 23 
Ibtana – WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 
ZIP AI – AI Website Builder & AI Agent 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 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.