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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “easy 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 “easy scrollbar”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Easy p5.js Block shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 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

Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 391 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 Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.8★ (254) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #9 ↑7 2 too low 8 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #8 ↑6 1 too high 10 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 PVT – Product Variation Table for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too high 20 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Target Video Easy Publish 50+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #12 ↓5 9 too high 22 Easy p5.js Block 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 18 too high 23 Easy Store Management for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓6 9 too high 24 Easy MLS Listings Import 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 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.