wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wow”

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 “wow”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

Wow Sliders Addons for Elementor shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #3 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

WOW Styler for CF7 – Visual Styler for Contact Form 7 Forms 3K+ · 3.9★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too low 4

WowShipping – Table Rate & Weight Based Shipping 700+ · 5.0★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #12 6 too low 7

Wow Elements Addons for Elementor 60+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8

Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too high 9

Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too high 10

Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #16 ↓3 6 too low 11

Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13

WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 14

WP Fusion Lite – Marketing Automation and CRM Integration for WordPress 4K+ · 5.0★ (69) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15

Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16

WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #19 ↓4 3 too low 17

WowInvoice – PDF Invoices & Packing Slips 100+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #14 3 too high 18

Popup Box – Easily Create WordPress Popups 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓4 3 too low 19 W WoW Progress 20+ · 4.5★ (6) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20

Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21

Guild Raid Progression for WoW and Raider IO 10+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓4 6 too high 22

Wow Sliders Addons for Elementor 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑1 17 too high 23

Advanced Product Search For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

ShareThis Reaction Buttons 600+ · 3.8★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓3 7 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.