wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “creative 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 “creative 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
Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #16 ↑4 7 too low 10 
Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #18 ↑3 6 too low 13 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too high 14 
HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489)
wp.org #19 ↓3 5 too low 15 
Radius Portfolio – Filterable Grid, Gallery & Slider Portfolio 7K+ · 4.6★ (38)
wp.org #10 ↑3 5 too high 16 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Blocksy Companion 300K+ · 4.7★ (93)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Divi Carousel Lite – Responsive Carousel & Slider Modules for Divi Builder 6K+ · 4.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #6 15 too high 22 
Content Slider Block – Bring your content to life with slides 3K+ · 3.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 
Product Image and Video Gallery Slider for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24 
WP Before After Image Slider – Interactive Image and Video Comparison Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.