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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “nice scroll”

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 “nice scroll”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Scrollbar shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 MouseWheel Smooth Scroll 90K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Animate It! 20K+ · 4.9★ (127) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Hash Link Scroll Offset 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #8 9 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #18 ↑3 9 too low 10 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (160) wp.org #11 ↑6 1 too low 11 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Organization chart 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Video Gallery – YouTube Gallery, Vimeo, Video Portfolio, Image Portfolio and Image Gallery 10K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 Import Eventbrite Events 3K+ · 4.5★ (52) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Logo Showcase Ultimate – Logo Carousel, Logo Slider & Logo Grid 2K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #9 13 too high 23 WPB Addons for Elementor – News Ticker, Timeline, Team & More Widgets 3K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 Scroll to top button 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.