wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content scrolling”
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 “content scrolling”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
Smooth Scrolling shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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.
YITH Infinite Scrolling 9K+ · 4.3★ (46)
wp.org #1 2 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #2 3 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #11 6 too low 6 
Smooth scrolling with Lenis 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #3 3 too high 7 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225)
wp.org #17 9 too low 9 
WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565)
wp.org #19 10 too low 10 
Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43)
wp.org #10 11 
Advanced Floating Content Lite 7K+ · 4.1★ (30)
wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #23 11 too low 13 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
Webyx for Gutenberg – Fullpage Fullscreen Scrolling Websites 600+ · 4.8★ (53)
wp.org #15 16 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Smooth Scrolling 900+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #4 13 too high 18 
Content Blocks Builder – Create blocks, repeater blocks with carousel, grid, popup layouts 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #13 5 too high 19 
Webyx for Elementor – Fullpage Fullscreen Scrolling Websites 500+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #16 3 too high 20 
Table Of Content Block – Auto-Generate Clickable Table of Contents 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #8 12 too high 21 
Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #14 8 too high 23 
Post Auto Vertical Scrolling 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #12 11 too high 24 
Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #18 6 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.