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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “animated background”

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 “animated background”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 18 of the top 20. 4 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

Animated Number Counters shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too low 2 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Animated Text Block – Add Typing and Looping Text Effects 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Ultimate Cursor – Interactive and Animated Custom Cursor and Background Effects Toolkit 3K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #17 ↑3 7 too low 11 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Video Background Block – Add Stunning Video Backgrounds to Any Section 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Fullscreen Menu 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too high 18 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Counters Block – Animated Number Counters, Stats & Dynamic KPIs 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too high 20 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Animated Number Counters 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #5 ↓1 16 too high 22 Text Typing – grab attention with animated typing headlines 3K+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 KineticHub – Animated Blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.