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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “image carousel”

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 “image carousel”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Image Prioritizer shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 40K+ 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

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 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 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #2 3 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Carousel Slider 30K+ · 4.3★ (160) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #19 ↑2 10 too low 10 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #18 ↓6 8 too low 11 Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too low 13 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Splide Carousel Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #9 ↓2 5 too high 15 Post Carousel Divi 2K+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Image Carousel For Divi 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↑1 8 too high 17 Image Carousel 1K+ · 2.6★ (14) wp.org #7 ↑1 10 too high 18 Image Carousel Module for Divi 8K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #23 ↓4 5 too low 19 Carousel Block – Showcase Images in Elegant Sliding Displays 7K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑2 9 too high 21 Responsive Owl Carousel for Elementor 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 Awesome Logo Carousel Block 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 WBD Logo Carousel For Gutenberg 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Image Prioritizer 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.