wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “advanced scrollbar”

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 “advanced scrollbar”, we agree with wp.org 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

Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 7 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 #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

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

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #4 1 too low 4 I iframe 60K+ · 4.4★ (56) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #22 15 too low 8

Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 5 too low 9

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #17 8 too low 10

Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #19 9 too low 11

FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #18 7 too low 12

EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) not PHP-current wp.org #15 3 too low 13

Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #9 4 too high 14

AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #10 4 too high 15

Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #16 1 too low 16

Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 3 too low 18

Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel 600+ · 3.0★ (7) not PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #2 16 too high 19

Piotnet Addons For Elementor 20K+ · 3.2★ (57) wp.org #12 7 too high 20

WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 9 too high 21

Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #21 22

Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #8 14 too high 23

fullPage Vertical & Horizontal Slider – Snap Scroll Sections & More 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

WPMelon Advanced Bulk Edit for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 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.