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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “basic ticker”

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 “basic ticker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

News Ticker – Floating Headlines & Sticky Alerts shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 146 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 Ditty – Responsive News Tickers, Sliders, and Lists 30K+ · 4.6★ (106) wp.org #1 2 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 WP Top News — Build a Complete News Portal in WordPress 800+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 OXP Breaking News Ticker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 Logo Slider WP – Responsive Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery & Logo Showcase 10K+ · 4.5★ (61) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Exclusive Addons for Elementor 50K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #22 ↑2 9 too low 14 Cozy Blocks – Website Builder & Business Growth Toolkit | Popups, Lead Forms & Inbox 6K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 Marquee Running Text 5K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 Petitioner 200+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Events Slider, Events Carousel, Events Grid, Events Timeline and Events Filter Bar for The Events Calendar – Eventful 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Fancy Post Grid – Ultimate Post Grid Builder 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 FYP News Ticker – Scrolling News Banner & Announcement Bar for WordPress 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22 IRM Newsroom 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 InvestorySpot Stock Ticker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 News Ticker – Floating Headlines & Sticky Alerts 100+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #9 15 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.