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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “animation plugin”

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 “animation plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Animation Builder – An interface for adding scroll-triggered animations shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 215 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks 90K+ · 4.8★ (73) wp.org #1 2 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #2 3 Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 Maintenance & Coming Soon Redirect Animation 3K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #5 6 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Scrollsequence – Cinematic Scroll Image Animation Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #18 ↓2 8 too low 11 Animations for Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (27) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #17 ↑7 3 too low 15 LottieFiles – JSON Based Animation Lottie & Bodymovin for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 Page Animations And Transitions 1K+ · 2.8★ (32) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Tumult Hype Animations 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Animation Builder – An interface for adding scroll-triggered animations 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Confetti Fall Animation 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Cursor Style & Animation 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 AI website builder for the block editor and Elementor – Advanced Addons 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓2 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.