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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ajax loader”

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 “ajax loader”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Ajax loader + Cache shows at wp.org #3 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SearchWP Live Ajax Search 40K+ · 4.7★ (36) wp.org #1 2 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #5 6 Ajaxify Comments – Ajax and Lazy Loading Comments 3K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #23 ↓1 16 too low 8 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Relevanssi Live Ajax Search 7K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Ajax loader + Cache 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↓1 7 too high 11 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Search 30K+ · 3.0★ (42) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 GTM Kit – Google Tag Manager & GA4 integration 30K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Album Gallery for Photo & Video 4K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Advance Product Search- Voice & Ajax Search for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Quick Ajax Post Loader 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Fast Cart – Ultralight Ajax Side Cart for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 18 AjaxPress – SPA & Ajax Navigation with Persistent Audio Player for Radio 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 ThemeHunk – Side Cart, Ajax Cart & Menu Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Products Skeleton Loader for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Taily 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 AJAX Loading 10+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #22 2 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.