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

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 subtitle”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Media Player Addons for Elementor – Audio and Video Widgets for Elementor shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps places #6 on merit, 5.0★ from 70 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #1 2 PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates 70K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #2 3 All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #9 ↑4 5 too low 5 Timetable and Event Schedule by MotoPress 30K+ · 4.3★ (69) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too low 7 Falang multilanguage for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (113) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) wp.org #16 ↓4 6 too low 11 Widget Subtitles 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↓1 8 too high 12 Falang for Elementor Lite 400+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Sportsteam Widget – Football livescore 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Super Video player – Fully Customizable Video Player with Playlist 2K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 EmailKit – Email Customizer for WooCommerce & WP 70K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑10 6 too high 18 Add as Preferred Source on Google 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Lean Player – Video and Audio Player with Playlist for WordPress, Elementor and Gutenberg 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Media Player Addons for Elementor – Audio and Video Widgets for Elementor 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 Image Gallery Block – Showcase Photos in Stunning Responsive Grids 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓2 9 too high 22 Dropndot Post Subtitle 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Generic Elements 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Advanced Heading 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓4 4 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.