Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “movement”

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 “movement”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Smooth Custom Cursor shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Popup Maker – Responsive popup, Exit Intent Pop up, Email Optins, Autoresponder & More places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Block Animations, Motion & Scroll Effects – Ghost Kit 6K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #8 ↑6 6 too low 3 Lucky Orange 2K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Marquee Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Random Posts and Pages Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Notifima – WooCommerce Stock Manager, Inventory Management, Waitlist 2K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #13 ↓5 6 too low 8 Popup Maker – Responsive popup, Exit Intent Pop up, Email Optins, Autoresponder & More 7K+ · 4.5★ (144) wp.org #18 ↑1 10 too low 9 Webyx for Gutenberg – Fullpage Fullscreen Scrolling Websites 600+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Stock Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (130) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 too high 12 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Webyx for Elementor – Fullpage Fullscreen Scrolling Websites 500+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 VdoCipher: Secure Video Player and Hosting 2K+ · 4.2★ (14) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 SmartParallax – Parallax Scroll Effects & Scroll Animations 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑3 8 too high 18 WP Inventory Manager 1K+ · 4.6★ (32) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 IndieWeb 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Smooth Custom Cursor 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 Before After Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 Before After Image Comparison – Visual Comparison for Two Images 3K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 CommonsBooking 200+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Animation Builder – An interface for adding scroll-triggered animations 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 12 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.