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← Rankings

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

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 instance”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

The Word Widget shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #1 2 Image Widget 100K+ · 4.9★ (287) wp.org #2 3 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #3 4 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #4 5 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Maps Widget for Google Maps 20K+ · 4.6★ (512) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 Add Widget After Content 6K+ · 4.7★ (38) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Widget CSS Classes 80K+ · 4.9★ (74) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Genesis Widget Column Classes 5K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Widget Visibility Control 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑4 5 too high 19 T Taxonomy Dropdown Widget 1K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓3 20 T Taxonomy List Widget 1K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Widgets for Google Reviews and Ratings 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 P Pager Widget 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Order List Table Elementor Widget for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 The Word Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.