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

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 wordpress”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 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 #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147) wp.org #5 3 too low 3

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #7 4 too low 4

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 5

Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #2 3 too high 6

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #17 ↑2 10 too low 8

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #15 7 too low 9

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10

Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #11 1 too low 11

Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #9 2 too high 12

PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #8 5 too high 14

WindPress – Tailwind CSS integration for WordPress 3K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15

Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

Vimeography: Vimeo Video Gallery WordPress Plugin 5K+ · 4.5★ (122) not PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18

Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #22 4 too low 19

Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 6 too high 20

Grids: Layout builder for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21

Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #6 15 too high 22

Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #21 1 too high 23

Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel 600+ · 3.0★ (7) not PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 ↑1 20 too high 24

TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 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.