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

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 “grayscale”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Logo Showcase – Logo Slider, Carousel & Sponsors Gallery shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 107 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Grayscale Images 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Social Media Feather 10K+ · 4.6★ (506) wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too low 8 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #13 ↓4 4 too low 10 AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #11 ↑6 12 Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF 30K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #20 ↓5 8 too low 13 Photo Gallery – Image, Video & Portfolio 1K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #8 ↑2 5 too high 14 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑6 2 too low 15 Logo Slider WP – Responsive Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery & Logo Showcase 10K+ · 4.5★ (61) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Logo Showcase – Logo Slider, Carousel & Sponsors Gallery 900+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #7 ↓2 9 too high 17 WP MapIt 2K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too high 18 Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too low 19 Logo Showcase – Carousel, Slider, Grid & List for WordPress 400+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓5 4 too low 20 Logo Slider – Infinite Carousel & Marquee Block 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too high 21 Open Accessibility 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too high 22 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓4 2 too low 23 Site Grayscale Toggle 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓5 5 too high 24 MarqueeAll – Elementor Marquee for Image, Text, Post Grid, Testimonial, Cryptocurrency, Faqs & News Ticker 🌀 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.