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

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 “customize cursor”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Cursor Image Lite shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 515 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 #1 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #2 3 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #3 4 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #11 ↑2 5 too low 7 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #21 ↓6 9 too low 13 Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too low 15 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 Cursor Style & Animation 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #10 ↑2 7 too high 18 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 WSP MCP – Free MCP Plugin for WordPress: Connect Claude, ChatGPT & AI Agents 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Embed Lottie Player – bring your pages to life with animation 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Cursor Trail 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Cursor Image Lite 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 15 too high 23 Hura Custom Cursors 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑2 15 too high 24 Shining Cursor Trail 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 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.