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

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 scrollbar”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 8 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

Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel shows at wp.org #2 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Popups for Divi places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 442 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #5 ↑3 4 too low 2 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Scrollbar 300+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #8 ↑2 4 too low 5 WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #17 ↑2 10 too low 8 Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 CodeColorer 1K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Login With Ajax – Fast Logins, 2FA, Redirects 10K+ · 4.6★ (167) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Quick View for WooCommerce – Reno QuickView 2K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Advanced Scrollbar – Give Your Site a Sleek Branded Scrolling Feel 600+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Giuliomax Menu Builder 20+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 StoreBuild – Online Store Builder for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 9 too high 16 Joli FAQ SEO – WordPress FAQ Plugin 600+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 TCBD Custom Scrollbar 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 Dynamic Plugins — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 WPC AJAX Search for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20 Sticky Back2Top Universal 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Soft Hyphen Inserter 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 Letterness: Newsletter Plugin, Popup & Email Marketing 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑4 3 too high 23 SM – Scrollbar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 AZ Advanced Custom Scrollbar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.