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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post slideshow widget”

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 “post slideshow widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smart Slider 3 places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1125 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #2 3 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too low 6 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Slideshow SE 2K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 too high 8 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Responsive Slideshow – Photo Carousel 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 ↑1 6 too high 11 Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Tagembed: Social Media Feeds and Customer Reviews Widget 9K+ · 3.9★ (62) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates 70K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #16 17 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 P Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 3K+ · 4.5★ (50) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 S Simple Lightbox 100K+ · 4.3★ (239) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Social Media Icon Widget – Social Profile Links with Gutenberg Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Slider, Image Slider & Carousel by Slider Factory – Responsive Slideshow, Video Slider 2K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #21 22 Image Slider 4K+ · 3.4★ (31) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Photo Gallery Slideshow & Masonry Tiled Gallery 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 14 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.