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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cursor effect”

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 “cursor effect”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

Smooth Custom Cursor shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 284 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Ultimate Cursor – Interactive and Animated Custom Cursor and Background Effects Toolkit 3K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #15 ↑6 8 too low 8 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #9 ↑3 10 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Confetti – Celebration Effects for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #20 ↑2 7 too low 14 Smooth Custom Cursor 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 Sky Addons for Elementor – 160+ Widgets, GSAP Animations, Templates & Theme Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Cursor Style & Animation 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Angie – Agentic AI 100K+ · 3.3★ (20) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too low 20 Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Cursor Trail 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 CursorFlex – Stylish Cursor Effects for WordPress 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 FaeCursor – Interaction Effects Toolkit 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel 600+ · 3.0★ (7) 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.