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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fluid”

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 “fluid”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

LIQUID BLOCKS – Slider, Carousel, Accordion shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 4K+ 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

WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 306 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Fluid Checkout for WooCommerce – Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #1 2 WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 Kybernaut IČO DIČ 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags 4K+ · 4.6★ (306) wp.org #19 ↓1 12 too low 8 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 Core Framework 10K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 WPSSO Schema Product Metadata for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11 Elements Hive for Breakdance 1K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #11 12 Share Buttons & AI-powered Summaries 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 PagBank / PagSeguro e Vindi para WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (64) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Fluid Design System for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Snow Monkey Editor 30K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Pure Metafields 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑4 1 too high 18 UiCore Animate – Free Animations, Transitions, and Interactions Addon for Elementor & Gutenberg blocks 40K+ · 3.2★ (10) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Fluid Font Forge 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Qode Essential Addons 10K+ · 2.8★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 LIQUID BLOCKS – Slider, Carousel, Accordion 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 Mosaic Gallery – Advanced Gallery 3K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 Scrollchart 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.