Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 effect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

SmartParallax – Parallax Scroll Effects & Scroll Animations shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250) wp.org #1 2 WP Snow Effect 1K+ · 4.9★ (390) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 jQuery Smooth Scroll 10K+ · 4.5★ (47) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too low 6 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #15 ↑5 9 too low 7 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Confetti – Celebration Effects for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #10 ↑9 1 too low 10 Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #18 ↓3 6 too low 13 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Social Proof Popups & Real-Time Notifications – Herd Effects 900+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others 10K+ · 4.8★ (193) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 Advanced WordPress Backgrounds 30K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #17 ↑7 1 too high 19 S Scripts To Footer 7K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too low 20 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #24 ↓3 4 too low 21 WP Swiper 4K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Lightbox Images for Divi Enhanced 4K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 SmartParallax – Parallax Scroll Effects & Scroll Animations 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Wexlab Motion Effects for Elementor 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 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.