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

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 “cube”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 5 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

Flipbox Addon for Elementor shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rublon Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) places #8 on merit, 4.2★ from 88 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Gmedia Photo Gallery 7K+ · 4.3★ (260) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Cube 3D Slider 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Divi Torque Lite 50K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 GSlider Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #9 ↑5 3 too low 7 Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 Rublon Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) 400+ · 4.2★ (88) wp.org #19 ↓2 11 too low 9 iPanorama 360 – Advanced Virtual Tour Builder 4K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #16 ↓4 7 too low 10 CubeWP Framework 3K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too high 11 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 Gutenslider — Slider Block for the Block Editor 10K+ · 4.0★ (65) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 O One Page Express Companion 10K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 Carousel Block – Showcase Images in Elegant Sliding Displays 7K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too high 17 Flipbox Addon for Elementor 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 11 too high 18 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 Content Slider Block – Bring your content to life with slides 3K+ · 3.2★ (5) wp.org #11 ↑9 8 too high 20 Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓3 7 too high 21 Product Image and Video Gallery Slider for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 jAlbum Bridge 500+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Cube 3D 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓4 9 too high 24 Touch Slider for Elementor 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.