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

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 scrollbar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Piotnet Addons For Elementor 20K+ · 3.2★ (57) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #19 ↑3 6 too low 14 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel 600+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #3 16 too high 20 Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 WS Custom Scrollbar 80+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 Stylish Google Sheet Reader – Embed Google Sheets as Interactive Tables with Built-in Form Submissions 200+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Bizzview – Quick View for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 14 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.