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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “free 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 “free scrollbar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 147 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 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #1 2 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #9 ↑10 4 too low 6 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Caddy – WooCommerce Side Cart & Free Shipping Bar 3K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #10 11 MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #20 ↓4 6 too low 15 Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel 600+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #2 13 too high 16 Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 ↑1 11 too high 17 Piotnet Addons For Elementor 20K+ · 3.2★ (57) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 annasta Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 WP Flow Plus 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 22 Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 fullPage Vertical & Horizontal Slider – Snap Scroll Sections & More 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 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.