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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “responsive banner”

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 banner”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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

Full Width Banner Slider Wp shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #4 5 AdRotate Banner Manager 20K+ · 4.3★ (655) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #16 ↑1 10 too low 7 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Responsive Starter Templates – Elementor Templates & Starter Sites 10K+ · 4.5★ (39) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too high 9 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #21 ↓5 12 too low 10 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 Photospace Responsive Gallery 800+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Responsive Thumbnail Slider 1K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 Sticky Banner 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 Cookiez – GDPR & CCPA Cookie Banner & Consent Manager 50K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 Lightweight Cookie Notice – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Axeptio – Cookie Banner – GDPR Consent & Compliance with a friendly touch 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Full Width Banner Slider Wp 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 DMC Promo Banner – Sale Notifications & Announcement Bar 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Category Banner Management for Woocommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.