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

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 templates”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Kadence Starter Templates — Predesigned Website Templates shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 19 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 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

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #2 3

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7

Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too low 11

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #16 ↑4 4 too low 13

Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #22 8 too low 15

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Starter Sites & Templates by Neve 100K+ · 4.7★ (77) heavy footprint wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #19 ↓2 20

Kadence Starter Templates — Predesigned Website Templates 200K+ · 4.3★ (19) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 12 too high 21

Fullwidth Templates for Any Theme & Page Builder 20K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22

SKT Templates – 100% Free Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) not PHP-currentheavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23

WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 24

Templateberg – Gutenberg Templates, WordPress Themes Template Kits & WordPress Templates 6K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 10 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.