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

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 support”, 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

BH Custom CSS3 Preloader – Just play and play shows at wp.org #2 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 10 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

Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 348 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 signals wp.org

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #1 2

MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #6 4 too low 3

Animate It! 20K+ · 4.9★ (127) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

WRC Pricing Tables – Responsive CSS3 Pricing Tables 1K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #3 3 too high 7

Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too low 8

Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #11 ↓4 3 too low 9

Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #8 ↑4 1 too high 10

Carousel Slider 30K+ · 4.3★ (160) wp.org #10 ↓1 11

Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #17 6 too low 12

BH Custom CSS3 Preloader – Just play and play 700+ · 3.8★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #2 10 too high 13

Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #15 2 too low 14

3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15

LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16

Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Off-Canvas Sidebars & Menus (Slidebars) 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #16 1 too high 18

Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19

Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #22 3 too low 20

Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 3 too low 21

International Telephone Input With Flags And Dial Codes 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #18 3 too high 22

Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #14 8 too high 23

Advanced Image Hover Effect for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

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.