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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cool text 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 “cool text effect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Timeline Block For Gutenberg shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 11 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 #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #1 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 3 Cool Flipbox – Shortcode & Gutenberg Block 5K+ · 4.8★ (103) wp.org #3 4 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #5 6 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #6 7 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #7 8 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Video Gallery – YouTube Gallery, Vimeo, Video Portfolio, Image Portfolio and Image Gallery 10K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates 70K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 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 #15 4 too high 20 CP Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Magical Addons For Elementor ( Theme Builder, Header Footer Builder, Free Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates Library ) 4K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Photo Gallery by Ays – Responsive Image Gallery 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Announcement & Notification Banner – Bulletin 2K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Pixel Gallery Addons for Elementor 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #22 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.