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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hero section”

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

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 400+ 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

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 251 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 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #1 2 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #5 6 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #19 ↑2 9 too low 11 Getwid – Gutenberg Blocks 50K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 HT Mega Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets & Template Builder 60K+ · 4.1★ (66) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 Video Popup Block – YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok Lightbox by WPZOOM 10K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #22 ↓9 8 too low 15 WP Top News — Build a Complete News Portal in WordPress 800+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑9 2 too high 17 Video Background Block – Add Stunning Video Backgrounds to Any Section 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 Section Blocks – Landing Page Sections for the Block Editor 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #21 22 WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Hunk Companion 5K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Hero Section for Block Editor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 6 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.