wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress block”

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 “wordpress block”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 5 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

WordPress Importer shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 327 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 2 too high 5

Gutenverse – WordPress Blocks, Page Builder & Site Editor 20K+ · 4.9★ (190) heavy footprint wp.org #5 6

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #7 ↑6 1 too high 9

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10

The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12

Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too low 14

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #12 2 too high 15

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too low 18

Flexible Table Block 40K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #15 4 too high 20

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #23 ↓4 3 too low 21

WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22

Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint wp.org #24 2 too low 23

SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too high 24

VK Block Patterns 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑2 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.