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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “3d viewer”

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 “3d viewer”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Photo Sphere Viewer – 360° Virtual Tour, Panorama, 360 Video & AR 3D Viewer shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 120 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too low 5 Document Viewer – let visitors view files right in the browser 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #10 ↑3 5 too low 6 Real3D Flipbook – 3D Flipbook, PDF Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 10K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #17 ↓5 10 too low 8 3D viewer by Visody 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 PausAR – 3D and AR for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 ↑3 1 too low 11 Easy 3D Viewer 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 3D Viewer Block – Bring Your Products to Life with Interactive 3D 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 MKL Product Configurator for WooCommerce – 2D & 3D Live Preview 2K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 SwiftXR (3D/AR/VR) Viewer 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Flipbook PDF Viewer & Embedder 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓4 2 too high 16 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 TNC FlipBook 3D – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 BSS 3D Product Viewer & AR for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too high 19 Image Gallery Block – Showcase Photos in Stunning Responsive Grids 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 PDF Embed Block – share documents right inside your posts 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 Info Cards – Add Text and Media in Card Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Photo Sphere Viewer – 360° Virtual Tour, Panorama, 360 Video & AR 3D Viewer 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑2 13 too high 23 3D Scene Viewer 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Augmented Reality Viewer – 3D Model Viewer 400+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.