wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “responsive 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 “responsive background”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 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 signals wp.org

WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Responsive Gallery Grid 4K+ · 4.7★ (66) wp.org #3 4

Make Tables Responsive 6K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #4 5

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #13 8 too low 6

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #19 ↑1 13 too low 7

Responsive Mortgage Calculator 7K+ · 4.4★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #7 8

Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #21 ↓2 13 too low 9

WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #17 7 too low 11

Block Responsive – Make Editor Blocks Responsive Easily 800+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #6 5 too high 12

Responsive Tabs 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #11 1 too high 13

Responsive Starter Templates – Elementor Templates & Starter Sites 10K+ · 4.5★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 4 too high 14

Video Background Block – Add Stunning Video Backgrounds to Any Section 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #5 9 too high 15

Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Responsive Thumbnail Slider 1K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #16 17

Responsive Blocks – Page Builder for Blocks & Patterns 3K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #15 2 too high 18

Responsive Filterable Portfolio Gallery – Media Grid & Video Portfolio 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 19

Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20

Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 9 too high 22

Responsive Testimonials 500+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23

Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #8 15 too high 24

Responsive Tabs For Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 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.