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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “keyboard navigation”

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 “keyboard navigation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Meow Lightbox places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 190 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #2 3 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #3 4 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 S Simple Lightbox 100K+ · 4.3★ (239) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Meow Lightbox 10K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 PW WooCommerce Bulk Edit 20K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #24 ↓13 11 too low 14 Multi-Step Checkout for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.5★ (49) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too high 15 Product Slider, Product Carousel and Product Grid Gallery for WooCommerce – Reno Product Slider (formerly Product Slider for WooCommerce) 20K+ · 4.7★ (280) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 Disk Usage Sunburst 9K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #22 ↓3 5 too low 18 LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Gallery Block by Galleryberg: Lightbox with Tiles, Masonry, Square, & Justified Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Contact Forms by Cimatti 700+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Slider Pro 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 Addon Elementor Container Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) 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.