Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 ready”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Statify Widget shows at wp.org #17 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 4 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #6 7 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14 WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #11 ↓4 3 too high 15 Shortcode Widget 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too high 16 Tagembed: Social Media Feeds and Customer Reviews Widget 9K+ · 3.9★ (62) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 Bazz CallBack widget 3K+ · 4.3★ (33) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 RTMForm – Contact Form, Multi-Step Forms & Form Templates for Elementor 30K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Vertical Timeline Widget for Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Astra Widgets 200K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too high 23 Statify Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 EU AI Act Ready 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓4 3 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.