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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “css3”

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 “css3”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

BH Custom CSS3 Preloader – Just play and play shows at wp.org #2 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 266 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #1 2 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #4 ↓2 2 too low 3 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Animate It! 20K+ · 4.9★ (127) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WRC Pricing Tables – Responsive CSS3 Pricing Tables 1K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #12 ↑7 5 too low 8 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #10 ↑5 2 too low 9 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 BH Custom CSS3 Preloader – Just play and play 700+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #2 ↑1 8 too high 11 LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #13 ↓4 1 too low 13 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Carousel Slider 30K+ · 4.3★ (160) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too low 18 Off-Canvas Sidebars & Menus (Slidebars) 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too high 20 International Telephone Input With Flags And Dial Codes 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Nice page transition 500+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 Amedea – Unique Design Elements for Elementor 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.