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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “blur effect”

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 “blur effect”, 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

Animated Text Block – Add Typing and Looping Text Effects shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #1 2 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #2 3 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #3 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 ↓3 4 too low 5 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #5 ↑3 6 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 Animated Text Block – Add Typing and Looping Text Effects 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Advanced WordPress Backgrounds 30K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Logo Showcase – Logo Slider, Carousel & Sponsors Gallery 900+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 Video Background Block – Add Stunning Video Backgrounds to Any Section 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Nice page transition 500+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Wexlab Motion Effects for Elementor 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Animatikon – Scroll Animations & Motion Effects 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 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.