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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom progressbar”

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 “custom progressbar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Custom Swiper Slider for Elementor shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 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

Related Posts for WordPress places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 325 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #1 2 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #2 3 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #3 4 E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Simple Image Sizes 60K+ · 4.6★ (91) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 WP Reading Progress 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #16 ↑3 8 too low 9 Related Posts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (325) wp.org #20 ↑1 11 too low 10 Divi Gravity Forms (WP Tools) 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #11 ↑2 12 Easy Bootstrap Shortcode 6K+ · 4.0★ (50) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 GSlider Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 ImageMagick Engine 60K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 UpStream: a Project Management Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 4.2★ (74) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Bradmax Player 1K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 Magical Addons For Elementor ( Theme Builder, Header Footer Builder, Free Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates Library ) 4K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Custom Swiper Slider for Elementor 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 Enter Addons – Ultimate Template Builder for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑3 6 too high 20 Groundworx Carousel 90+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Car Rental Manager – Online Vehicle Booking System 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 PagePulse 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 23 WP Rate and Review – Collect Reviews with Images — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 WP Travel Gutenberg Blocks 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #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.