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

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 transform”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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

PDF Flipbook, WPBakery Addon – Unreal FlipBook shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FV Flowplayer Video Player places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 90 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Off-Canvas Sidebars & Menus (Slidebars) 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #1 2 ShiftNav – Responsive Mobile Menu 10K+ · 4.6★ (68) wp.org #2 3 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #3 4 Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Hover Effects – easily create any hover effect 7K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Flow-Flow Social Streams 7K+ · 3.3★ (100) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Magical Addons For Elementor ( Theme Builder, Header Footer Builder, Free Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates Library ) 4K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Animator – Scroll Triggered Animations 1K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) wp.org #21 ↑1 11 too low 11 CB Custom Beaver Builder Modules 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 peLightbox Gallery Slider – Responsive Lightbox, Slideshow, Carousel, Image & Video Gallery 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑2 6 too high 14 WPC Variations Grid for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Social Connect: Social Share/Follow By 7Span 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 Advanced Charts for Gutenberg Blocks Editor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 Seazonify — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 FlipEm — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 PDF Flipbook, WPBakery Addon – Unreal FlipBook 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 WG Responsive Slider — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Card flip image slideshow 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Slide Content with jQuery — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Grigora's Kit For Website Building 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 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.