Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Amedea – Unique Design Elements for Elementor shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 504 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ShiftNav – Responsive Mobile Menu 10K+ · 4.6★ (68) wp.org #1 2 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Animate It! 20K+ · 4.9★ (127) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WRC Pricing Tables – Responsive CSS3 Pricing Tables 1K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #9 ↑6 2 too low 8 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 BH Custom CSS3 Preloader – Just play and play 700+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #17 ↑6 5 too low 13 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #18 ↓4 5 too low 14 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Off-Canvas Sidebars & Menus (Slidebars) 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #16 ↑2 17 LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 Gmedia Photo Gallery 7K+ · 4.3★ (260) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Elegance Menu 60+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too high 20 Filterable Portfolio 1K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #20 21 Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Amedea – Unique Design Elements for Elementor 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.