Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “widget empty categories”

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 “widget empty categories”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Collapsing Categories shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 57 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 3 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WP Categories Widget 6K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #11 ↑5 1 too high 13 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 ShopEngine – All-in-One Elementor WooCommerce Builder with eCommerce Templates & Woo Widgets 100K+ · 4.6★ (212) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #22 ↑2 5 too low 18 List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #19 20 Collapsing Categories 4K+ · 4.1★ (57) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Colorful Categories 2K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Simple Google Calendar Outlook Events Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 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.