wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress page widget”
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 page widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Page Visits Counter – Lite shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 7 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 #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #2 3 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #3 4 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #8 9 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #9 10 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #15 4 too low 12 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too high 13 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #20 ↑3 6 too low 15 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 
Landing Page Builder – Coming Soon page, Maintenance Mode, Lead Page, WordPress Landing Pages 8K+ · 4.6★ (202)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 
WP Popular Posts 100K+ · 4.5★ (249)
wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 
Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 6 too high 21 
Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #19 ↑5 2 too high 22 
Tabs Widget for Page Builder 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 
WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 13 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.