wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “loading animation”
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 “loading animation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Scrollsequence – Cinematic Scroll Image Animation Plugin shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 19 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #1 2 
Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124)
wp.org #2 3 
Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #3 4 
HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 
Maintenance & Coming Soon Redirect Animation 3K+ · 5.0★ (34)
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84)
wp.org #10 11 
Animations for Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (27)
wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #18 ↑6 4 too low 15 
Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too low 16 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Scrollsequence – Cinematic Scroll Image Animation Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑3 7 too high 19 
aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26)
wp.org #14 5 too high 20 
Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46)
wp.org #16 ↑4 4 too high 21 
LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33)
wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 
Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too high 23 
AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Page Animations And Transitions 1K+ · 2.8★ (32)
wp.org #23 ↓4 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.