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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “adaptive shortcode”

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 “adaptive shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #1 2 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Real Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Collect Customer Reviews and Video Testimonials 40K+ · 4.7★ (226) wp.org #5 ↓5 6 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Presto Player 100K+ · 4.8★ (346) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Product Slider, Product Carousel and Product Grid Gallery for WooCommerce – Reno Product Slider (formerly Product Slider for WooCommerce) 20K+ · 4.7★ (280) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (160) wp.org #10 ↑4 2 too high 13 Ultimate FAQ Accordion Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (439) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Super Video player – Fully Customizable Video Player with Playlist 2K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 VdoCipher: Secure Video Player and Hosting 2K+ · 4.2★ (14) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 TP WooCommerce Product Gallery 1K+ · 3.8★ (26) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 IdiomIQ Adaptive Placement Test 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Counter-Hits 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.