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

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 scroller”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 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

LandTech Extras for Elementor shows at wp.org #10 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 80+ 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

Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 66 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Vertical News Scroller 5K+ · 4.3★ (17) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #6 7 Exclusive Addons for Elementor 50K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8 Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (86) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #22 ↑1 12 too low 11 Vertical Image Slider – Responsive Thumbnail Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #7 ↓2 4 too high 12 Xpro Addons — 150+ Widgets for Elementor 40K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 LandTech Extras for Elementor 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 Unlock Addons for Elementor 70+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Redefined Zero Post Scrollers 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 SKT Addons for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Scrollrus Image Scroller — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 MarqueeX – Smooth Marquee Slider, News Ticker & Post Marquee for Block Editor & Elementor 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑3 3 too high 22 Apollo13 Framework Extensions 20K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 Craft Addons for WPBakery Page Builder 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Topper Pack 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.