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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “endless scroll”

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 “endless scroll”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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

Top-Down Scroll – Scroll to Top Button shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 60+ 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

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 398 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 Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #1 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1677) wp.org #2 3 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (332) wp.org #3 4 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #13 9 too low 5 Product Sort and Display for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.1★ (45) wp.org #5 6 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (398) wp.org #21 ↓2 15 too low 7 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 200K+ · 4.9★ (213) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #22 14 too low 9 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (68) wp.org #20 ↑1 11 too low 10 Ultimate FAQ Accordion Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (438) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11 Advanced Floating Content Lite 7K+ · 4.1★ (30) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (47) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (123) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Predictive Search for WooCommerce 700+ · 3.2★ (49) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 V Visual Recipe Index 300+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 Link in Bio Creator – Social 2K+ · 4.3★ (21) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 NS Smooth Scroll Back to Top 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 YITH WooCommerce Product Slider Carousel 4K+ · 3.2★ (20) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Top-Down Scroll – Scroll to Top Button 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Predictive Search 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 13 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.