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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “particle background”

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

Ultimate Cursor – Interactive and Animated Custom Cursor and Background Effects Toolkit shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 489 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052) wp.org #3 4 Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #4 ↑3 5 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too high 11 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too low 12 Gantry 5 Framework 7K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Piotnet Addons For Elementor 20K+ · 3.2★ (57) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too high 16 Sky Addons for Elementor – 160+ Widgets, GSAP Animations, Templates & Theme Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #16 ↑3 17 Content Blocks Builder – Create blocks, repeater blocks with carousel, grid, popup layouts 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 Ultimate Cursor – Interactive and Animated Custom Cursor and Background Effects Toolkit 3K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 Marvy – Background Animations for Elementor 4K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 Particle Slider 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Particles Backgrounds addon for WPBakery Page Builder Lite 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 FaeCursor – Interaction Effects Toolkit 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.