wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp template”
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 “wp template”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 2 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
Custom Field Template shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1138 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Show Current Template 100K+ · 5.0★ (71)
wp.org #7 2 too high 10 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too low 11 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #15 ↑9 4 too low 12 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too high 13 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #11 3 too high 15 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too high 16 
WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375)
wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too low 17 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 
WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237)
wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too low 19 
WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) heavy footprint
wp.org #22 ↓8 3 too low 20 
WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #18 ↓8 2 too high 21 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too high 22 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too high 24 
WP Email Template 2K+ · 3.1★ (35)
wp.org #24 ↓1 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.