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

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 effects”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ 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

3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 182 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #1 2 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 WRC Pricing Tables – Responsive CSS3 Pricing Tables 1K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Image Hover Effects For WPBakery Page Builder 3K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Image Hover Effects – WordPress Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (42) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Filterable Portfolio 1K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Animated Blocks on Scroll 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Page Animations And Transitions 1K+ · 2.8★ (32) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 SmartText Rotator – Add Motion to Your Words 1K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Hover Effects Addons for Elementor 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Amedea – Unique Design Elements for Elementor 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 peLightbox Gallery Slider – Responsive Lightbox, Slideshow, Carousel, Image & Video Gallery 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 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.