Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “jquery cycle”

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 “jquery cycle”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Product Widget Slider for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.2★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ShortPixel Adaptive Images – WebP, AVIF, CDN, Image Optimization places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 145 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 ShortPixel Adaptive Images – WebP, AVIF, CDN, Image Optimization 10K+ · 4.8★ (145) wp.org #11 ↓2 7 too low 5 Ultimate Lightbox 1K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 oik 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 UiChemy – Convert Figma, Prompts and AI Builds to Elementor, Gutenberg and Bricks 8K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Cycle Responsive Slider 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 AI Content Wizard Lite — SEO Content & Planner for OpenAI, Claude, DeepSeek & Gemini 10+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Advanced Post Manager 4K+ · 3.5★ (11) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 WP-Force Images Download 90+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #17 ↑3 6 too low 12 Razorpay for WooCommerce 100K+ · 2.5★ (23) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 FileDeck – Document Library & Download Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Ovulation Calculator 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 PJ News Ticker 3K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Logo Slider – Infinite Carousel & Marquee Block 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓5 6 too high 17 ES Football Bypass for Cloudflare 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 Random Image Block for Block Editor 100+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Unify 70+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓5 1 too low 20 UltimaKit – Admin Enhancements, Security, Optimization & Site Tweaks 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Nova Blocks by Pixelgrade 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Gutena Team – Team Slider and Grid 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 Product Widget Slider for WooCommerce 200+ · 2.2★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 Slide Content with jQuery — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 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.