wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “header animation”

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 “header animation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Header Footer Builder for Elementor shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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 signals wp.org

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 2

Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #2 3

Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #3 4

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #4 5

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Maintenance & Coming Soon Redirect Animation 3K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #6 7

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 8

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #20 11 too low 10

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #9 2 too high 12

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13

Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #12 1 too high 14

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #18 ↑3 4 too low 15

Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #5 10 too high 16

Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #13 3 too high 17

Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) heavy footprint wp.org #14 ↑4 3 too high 18

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #23 5 too low 19

aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) heavy footprint wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20

Security Header Generator 400+ · 4.9★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 10 too high 21

Sky Addons for Elementor – 160+ Widgets, GSAP Animations, Templates & Theme Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 22

Magical Addons For Elementor ( Theme Builder, Header Footer Builder, Free Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates Library ) 4K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Dynamic Header & Navigation for Block Themes 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24

RTMKit for Elementor – Modular Addons, Widgets, Templates, Icon Library, GSAP Animations, MCP & Store Ready 40K+ · 2.7★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 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.