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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “caption slider”

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 “caption slider”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Serious Slider shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 995 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 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #1 2 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (160) wp.org #2 3 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Carousel Slider 30K+ · 4.3★ (160) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #5 6 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 Social Slider Feed – Social Media Feed & Gallery Widgets 10K+ · 3.9★ (127) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Media Slider for Photos Images Videos 2K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 GutSlider – All in One Slider and Carousel Blocks for Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Gallery with thumbnail slider 3K+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Responsive Thumbnail Slider 1K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Accordion Slider 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Image Slider Block 4K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 bSlider – Build Sliders That Bring Your Content to Life 5K+ · 4.0★ (11) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Vertical Image Slider – Responsive Thumbnail Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Logo Showcase – Responsive Logo Carousel, Logo Slider & Logo Grid 5K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 WEN Logo Slider 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #24

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.