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

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 decorations”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Gum Addon for Elementor shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 50K+ 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

WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #2 3 LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #9 ↑5 4 too low 6 Weather Effect 4K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 SiteOrigin CSS 100K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Gravity Booster – Styles & Layouts for Gravity Forms 30K+ · 4.6★ (199) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Rs Christmas Trees – Holiday Decorations, Christmas Garlands & Falling Snow Effect 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Table Addons for Elementor 20K+ · 3.2★ (19) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 Easy Accordion Block – Accordion, FAQ & Collapsible Content for the Block Editor 7K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 SKT Templates – 100% Free Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 GSlider Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Image Slider 4K+ · 3.4★ (31) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 DevVN Snow 60+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Popcustoms – Print on demand & dropshipping, Free Personalizer 100+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Gum Addon for Elementor 50K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 Multidots Festive Holiday & Seasonal Effects 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.